Section 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, establish a loan forgiveness program for primary health care practitioners serving in medically underserved designated shortage areas.(b) Administration and purpose.--The Department of Health shall coordinate the administration of the program with the agency for providing repayment of student loans for primary health care practitioners serving in designated medically underserved 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.(d) Eligibility.--Consideration for loan repayment assistance shall be as follows:(1) The applicant must be one of the following:(i) An individual who: (A) has a medical degree from an accredited medical school or osteopathic medical college;(B) has completed an approved graduate training program in primary care medicine;(C) is licensed to practice medicine in this Commonwealth; and(D) is board eligible in a primary care specialty.(ii) An individual who is licensed to practice general dentistry in this Commonwealth.(iii) An individual who holds a nursing degree from an accredited nursing program and has completed a training program for nurse practitioners or nurse midwives.(iv) An individual who has graduated from an accredited program for physician assistants.(2) An applicant who is qualified under paragraph (1) must agree to serve in a designated medically underserved area of this Commonwealth as a primary health care practitioner for not less than three years.(e) Benefits.--(1) A physician or dentist who is eligible under subsection (d) shall be eligible to receive up to $64,000 in loan exonerations based on the following schedule: (2) A nurse practitioner, physician assistant or nurse midwife who is eligible under subsection (d) shall be eligible to receive up to $40,000 in loan exonerations based on the following repayment schedule:(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:(1) An unlicensed applicant shall apply for a license to practice in this Commonwealth at the earliest practicable opportunity.(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.(3) The applicant shall agree to serve not less than three full years in a designated medically underserved area at a repayment assistance schedule as provided in subsection (e).(4) The primary health care practitioner shall agree to treat patients in the area eligible for medical assistance and Medicare.(5) The primary health care practitioner shall agree to practice on a full-time basis in the designated medically underserved area.(6) The primary health care practitioner shall permit the agency or the Department of Health to monitor the practice to determine compliance with the terms of the contract.(7) The agency shall certify compliance with the terms of the contract for purposes of receipt by the primary health care practitioner of loan repayment awards for years subsequent to the initial year of the loan.(8) The contract shall be renewable on an annual basis upon certification by the agency that the primary health care practitioner has complied with the terms of the contract.(9) Upon the recipient's death or total or permanent disability, the agency shall nullify the service obligation of the recipient.(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.(g) Contract enforcement.--The agency shall have the authority to seek garnishment of wages for the collection of damages provided for in subsection (f)(11).1992, Dec. 2, P.L. 741, No. 113, § 1303, effective in 90 days.