048-2 Wyo. Code R. § 2-5

Current through April 27, 2019

Section 2-5 - Healthcare Professional Loan Repayment Program Grants - Terms and Service

(a) The Department may provide loan repayment grants to physicians, dentists, and allied healthcare professionals to repay loans taken for educational expenses in exchange for their agreement to provide full-time service at an approved practice location in the state for a period of three (3) years.

(b) Under either W.S. § 9-2-118 or W.S. § 9-2-119, loan repayment grants may be given only to repay bonafide loans that meet the following criteria:

(i) A commercial loan made by a bank, credit union, savings and loan association, insurance company, school, or credit institution; or

(ii) A governmental loan made by a federal, state, county, or city agency.

(iii) Educational loans may only include those costs related to the applicant's education in a healthcare profession, including the cost of books, education equipment, fees, materials, reasonable living expenses, supplies and tuition. Loans which include debt belonging to an individual other than the applicant or costs not associated with the applicant's healthcare professional education are not eligible for repayment under this Program.

(iv) Educational loans which are in default at the time of the healthcare professional's application for loan repayment are not eligible for repayment under this Program.

(c) Before receiving an award under this Program, the recipient shall enter into a contract with the Department agreeing to the conditions upon which the award is to be made.

The contract shall include necessary conditions to carry out the purposes of this Program including, but not limited to: service obligation and reporting requirements; payment schedule and terms; and penalties for breach of contract pursuant to Section 7 of these Rules.

(d) In exchange for financial assistance under this Program, the recipient shall serve full-time for a minimum of three (3) years at a practice location approved by the Department.

(i) The recipient's three (3) year service obligation begins on the date the contract between the Department and the recipient is finalized or the first day of full-time service at the approved practice location, whichever is later. Periods of internship, preceptorship, or other clinical training do not satisfy the service obligation under this Program.

(ii) The recipient must be licensed, including a temporary license, or be certified to practice in the recipient's healthcare specialty in Wyoming before the recipient's first day of service under the contract.

(iii) The recipient must obtain approval from the Department of the practice location where the recipient will complete the service obligation.

(iv) Full-time is defined as working at least forty (40) hours per week. The Department, at its discretion, may consider less than forty (40) hours per week as full-time when the industry standard for full-time for the healthcare professional's discipline is less than forty (40) hours per week.

(e) The Department may not disburse any grant monies under this Program until the recipient's contract has been finalized and the recipient has performed at least six (6) months of full-time service at the approved practice location. The date on which the recipient's initial six (6) months of service begins is the first day of the recipient's three (3) year service obligation pursuant to Section 5(d)(i) of these Rules.

(f) The loan repayment grant recipient must apply one hundred percent (100%) of the grant payments received under this Program to the educational loans identified in the application and approved by the Department.

048-2 Wyo. Code R. § 2-5

Amended, Eff. 4/14/2016.