§ 5001.1303. Loan forgiveness for primary health care practitioners
Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 62 P.S. Poor Persons and Public Welfare
62 P.S. § 5001.1303
§ 5001.1303. Loan forgiveness for primary health care practitioners
(a) Establishment.--The Department of Health shall, as part of the Primary Health Care Practitioners Program provided for in section 1302,1 establish a loan forgiveness program for primary health care practitioners serving in medically underserved designated shortage areas.
(c) Repayment assistance.--The Department of Health, in coordination with the agency, may provide assistance for the repayment of a student loan for education at an institution of higher learning received by a primary health care practitioner. Repayment assistance may not be made for a loan that is in default at the time of the application or for a loan being repaid through any other loan repayment assistance program. Repayment shall be made by the agency to the lending institution on behalf of the loan recipient.
(f) Contracts.--A recipient of loan repayment assistance shall enter into a contract with the agency and the Department of Health, which shall be considered a contract with the Commonwealth. Priority shall be given to those applicants who agree to engage in primary health care practice a minimum of three years or more in a designated medically underserved area. Preference shall be given to residents of this Commonwealth, minority applicants and graduates of Pennsylvania institutions providing primary health care education. The contract shall include, but not be limited to, the following terms and conditions:
(2) Within six months after licensure and the completion of all requirements for the primary care specialty, an applicant shall engage in the practice of primary health care medicine in a designated medically underserved area approved by the Department of Health. The Department of Health shall provide applicants with a list of available designated medically underserved area sites and shall, to the extent possible, approve applicant selections in the order they are received.
(10) If the recipient is convicted of, or pleads guilty or no contest to, a felony or misdemeanor or if the appropriate licensing board has determined that the recipient has committed an act of gross negligence in the performance of service obligations or has suspended or revoked the license to practice, the agency shall have the authority to terminate the recipient's service in the program and demand repayment of the assistance rendered to date.
(11) Loan recipients who fail to begin or complete the obligations contracted for shall pay to the agency three times the amount of assistance received. Falsification or misrepresentation on an application or in verification of service shall be construed to be a default. Determination as to the time of breach of contract shall be made by the agency. Both the recipient and the agency shall make every effort to resolve conflicts in order to prevent a breach of contract.
Credits
1992, Dec. 2, P.L. 741, No. 113, § 1303, effective in 90 days.
Footnotes
62 P.S. § 5001.1302.
62 P.S. § 5001.1303, PA ST 62 P.S. § 5001.1303
Current through Act 10 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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