S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2116
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 17, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  regents  professional
   education  scholarships, health care professional opportunity scholar-
   ships and loan forgiveness for podiatrists and dentists

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  605 of the education law, as
 amended by chapter 31 of the  laws  of  1985,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   3.  Regents  professional  education  in  medicine [or], dentistry, OR
 PODIATRY scholarships. Regents professional education in medicine  [or],
 dentistry,  OR  PODIATRY  scholarships  shall  be awarded annually, on a
 competitive basis, to students beginning professional study in  medicine
 [or],  dentistry,  OR PODIATRY.   One hundred such scholarships shall be
 awarded annually, and shall be classified and  allocated  in  accordance
 with  regents rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall only apply
 to any recipient who receives his or her first award  payment  prior  to
 the  nineteen  hundred eighty-five--nineteen hundred eighty-six academic
 year.
   § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 605 of the education law, as amended  by
 chapter  523  of  the  laws  of  1992,  subparagraph 3 of paragraph a as
 amended by section 89 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of  the  laws
 of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   9. Regents physician, DENTIST AND PODIATRIST loan forgiveness program.
 Regents  physician, DENTIST AND PODIATRIST loan forgiveness awards shall
 be awarded annually to physicians, DENTISTS AND PODIATRISTS who agree to
 practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY in an area of  New  York  state
 designated  by  the regents as having a shortage of physicians, DENTISTS
 OR PODIATRISTS.   Such awards  shall  be  classified  and  allocated  in
 accordance with regents rules.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07785-01-7

 A. 2116                             2
 
   a. Eligibility. (1) The applicant must be a resident of New York state
 and licensed to practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY.
   (2) The applicant must have completed a professional residency program
 within  the  five  years  immediately preceding the period for which the
 first award would be granted, or be within two years of completion of an
 accredited residency program in a primary care specialty  designated  in
 short supply by the board of regents.
   (3) The applicant must agree to practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIA-
 TRY  in  an  area  in  New York state designated as having a shortage of
 physicians, DENTISTS OR PODIATRISTS.  The  regents,  after  consultation
 with the commissioners of health, corrections and community supervision,
 mental  health  and  developmental  disabilities,  shall designate those
 regions and facilities of New York state which have a shortage of physi-
 cians, DENTISTS OR PODIATRISTS for the  purposes  of  this  section  and
 establish relative rankings thereof.
   b. Selection.  The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner
 of health, shall establish criteria for the selection of participants in
 the  program.  An  applicant  must  satisfy at least one of the criteria
 established. A priority shall  be  accorded  to  any  applicant  who  is
 completing  the second year of the service requirement and is reapplying
 for a new award. The criteria shall include but not be  limited  to  the
 following:
   (i)  reapplication  for  a new award by a person who is completing the
 second year of a service requirement;
   (ii) receipt of specific training  in  a  primary  care  specialty  or
 obstetrics, determined by the regents to be in short supply;
   (iii) receipt of specific training or experience in serving a shortage
 area;
   (iv)  receipt  of  specific training or experience matching a specific
 medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC need existing in a shortage area; and
   (v) agreement pursuant  to  [subdivision  (d)]  PARAGRAPH  D  of  this
 [section]  SUBDIVISION  to practice in an area determined by the regents
 to have a severe shortage of primary care physician, DENTIST  OR  PODIA-
 TRIST services.
   c.  Notification.  (1)  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved
 applications to the president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants;
   (2) The president shall verify the approved applicants':
   (i) eligibility; and
   (ii) total undergraduate  and  medical,  DENTAL  OR  PODIATRIC  school
 student expense;
   (3) The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
   d.  Service requirement. Within such time as the commissioner shall by
 regulation provide, a recipient of an award shall have agreed  to  prac-
 tice  medicine,  DENTISTRY  OR PODIATRY in a specific area designated as
 having a shortage of physicians, DENTISTS OR PODIATRISTS for a period of
 twelve months for each annual payment to be received by  the  recipient.
 Physicians,  DENTISTS  AND  PODIATRISTS in training who receive an award
 shall not receive credit toward their required service for time spent in
 a training program. In no case shall  the  total  number  of  months  of
 service  required  be  less  than  twenty-four.  The president shall, in
 consultation with the commissioner, develop and secure from  each  award
 recipient, a written agreement to:
   (i)  practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY in the designated short-
 age area;
   (ii) to accept Medicare and Medicaid payments; and

 A. 2116                             3
 
   (iii) to provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care  in
 the  designated  shortage  area being served, or to the designated popu-
 lation being served.
 If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president
 shall  be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be deter-
 mined by the formula:
                                A = 2B (t-s)
                                   -----
                                     t
 in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B"  is
 the  sum  of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such
 amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
 were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t"  is  the
 total  number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services;
 and "s" is the number of months of  service  actually  rendered  by  the
 recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
 this paragraph shall be paid within the five-year  period  beginning  on
 the  date  that  the recipient failed to comply with this service condi-
 tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
 ment of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from  the
 program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
 institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
   Any  obligation  to  comply  with  such provisions as outlined in this
 section shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The  commis-
 sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
 any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.
   e. Reporting. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New
 York  state higher education services corporation, and the department of
 health on forms prescribed by the president, as to  the  performance  of
 the  required  services,  commencing with the calendar year in which the
 recipient begins to practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY in a short-
 age area and continuing until the recipient shall have completed, or  it
 is  determined  that  he  or she shall not be obligated to complete, the
 required services.   If the recipient shall  fail  to  file  any  report
 required  hereunder  within thirty days of written notice to the recipi-
 ent, mailed to the address shown on the last application for an award or
 last report filed, whichever is later, the president of the  corporation
 may  impose  a  fine  of up to one thousand dollars. The president shall
 have the discretion to waive the filing of a report, excuse a  delay  in
 filing  or  a  failure  to  file  a  report, or waive or reduce any fine
 imposed for good cause shown.
   f. Other awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply  for  one
 additional award.
   §  3.  Subdivision 10 of section 605 of the education law, as added by
 chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
   10.  Regents  health  care  professional   opportunity   scholarships.
 Regents  health  care  professional  opportunity  scholarships  shall be
 awarded annually to students who are beginning or engaged in an approved
 program in medicine [or], dentistry, OR PODIATRY  and  who  are  econom-
 ically  disadvantaged  and/or  members  of  an underrepresented minority
 group, provided, however, that to the extent that  regents  health  care
 professional opportunity scholarships are not awarded, such scholarships
 shall be awarded as regents professional opportunity scholarships. These
 scholarships  shall  be  classified  and  allocated  in  accordance with
 regents rules.

 A. 2116                             4
 
   a. In selecting  and  certifying  scholarship  recipients  under  this
 subdivision,  priority  shall be accorded to applicants in the following
 order:
   (1)  First,  to  any  applicant  who  is economically disadvantaged as
 defined by the regents and a minority historically  underrepresented  in
 the  profession as determined by the regents after consultation with the
 council on professional  career  opportunity  created  by  section  nine
 hundred forty-one of the executive law;
   (2) Second, to any applicant who is a minority underrepresented in the
 profession  as  determined  by  the  regents after consultation with the
 council on professional  career  opportunity  created  by  section  nine
 hundred forty-one of the executive law;
   (3)  Third,  to any applicant who is a graduate of the state-sponsored
 opportunity program pursuant to section sixty-four hundred fifty-one  or
 sixty-four hundred fifty-two of this chapter.
   In the event that there are more applicants who have the same priority
 than there are remaining scholarships, the commissioner shall distribute
 the remaining number of such scholarships by means of a lottery or other
 form of random selection.
   b.  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved applications to the
 president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants.
   c. The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
   d. The president shall, in consultation with the commissioner, develop
 and secure from each successful applicant a written agreement  to  prac-
 tice  medicine [or], dentistry, OR PODIATRY, as appropriate, in a desig-
 nated shortage area. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regu-
 lation provide, a recipient of an award shall  have  practiced  medicine
 [or],  dentistry, OR PODIATRY in an area designated as having a shortage
 of physicians [or], dentists, OR PODIATRISTS, as appropriate,  for  that
 number of months calculated by multiplying by twelve the number of annu-
 al payments received by the recipient. In no case shall the total number
 of  months  of service required be less than twenty-four. If a recipient
 fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president shall be enti-
 tled to receive from such recipient an amount to be  determined  by  the
 formula:
                                A = 2B (t-s)
                                   -----
                                     t
 in  which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B" is
 the sum of all payments made to the recipient and the interest  on  such
 amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
 were  loans  bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t" is the
 total number of months in the recipient's period of obligated  services;
 and  "s"  is  the  number  of months of service actually rendered by the
 recipient. Any amount which the president is entitled to  recover  under
 this  paragraph  shall  be paid within the five-year period beginning on
 the date that the recipient failed to comply with  this  service  condi-
 tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
 ment  of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from the
 program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
 institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
   Any obligation to comply with such  provisions  as  outlined  in  this
 section  shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The commis-
 sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
 any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.

 A. 2116                             5
 
   e. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New York state
 higher education services corporation, on forms prescribed by it, as  to
 the  performance  of the required services, commencing with the calendar
 year in which the recipient begins to practice medicine [or], dentistry,
 OR  PODIATRY in a shortage area and continuing until the recipient shall
 have completed, or it is determined that he or she shall  not  be  obli-
 gated  to  complete, the required services.  If the recipient shall fail
 to file any report required hereunder  within  thirty  days  of  written
 notice  to the recipient, mailed to the address shown on the last appli-
 cation for an award or last report filed, whichever is later, the presi-
 dent of the corporation may impose a fine of up to one thousand dollars.
 The president shall have the discretion to waive the filing of a report,
 excuse a delay in filing or a failure to file  a  report,  or  waive  or
 reduce any fine imposed for good cause shown.
   §  4.  Section 677 of the education law, as added by chapter 31 of the
 laws of 1985 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 439 of the laws  of
 1988, is amended to read as follows:
   § 677.  Regents  physician,  DENTIST  AND  PODIATRIST loan forgiveness
 program. 1. Number and certification. Eighty regents physician,  DENTIST
 AND  PODIATRIST loan forgiveness awards shall be awarded each year. Such
 awards shall be allocated as provided in article thirteen of this  chap-
 ter to eligible physicians, DENTISTS AND PODIATRISTS as certified to the
 president by the commissioner.
   2.  Calculation  of  award  amounts.  Each  award shall consist of two
 consecutive  annual  loan  forgiveness  payments.  Each  of  the  annual
 payments  shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate and
 medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC school student loan expense or ten thousand
 dollars whichever is less.   The  president  shall  be  responsible  for
 calculating  the  dollar  amount of each award that [eligibile] ELIGIBLE
 candidates may receive from this  program.  For  the  purposes  of  this
 section,  student  loan  expense  shall mean the cumulative total of the
 annual student loans covering the cost of attendance at an undergraduate
 institution and/or medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC school. Interest paid or
 due on student loans that an applicant has taken out for use  in  paying
 for  such  undergraduate  and/or  medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC education
 shall be considered eligible for reimbursement under this program.
   3. Award disbursement. a. Annual  award  disbursements  shall  be  the
 responsibility  of  the president and shall occur prior to the beginning
 of each of the required terms of service as  specified  in  the  service
 contract.  The board of trustees of the higher education services corpo-
 ration shall adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria  for  deter-
 mining  successful  completion  of  the  service contract and any appeal
 process that may be required to implement this paragraph upon  recommen-
 dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.
   b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon
 successful  completion  of  the  first  year  requirement of the service
 contract as defined by the president, as  well  as  other  criteria  set
 forth in this section.
   §  5.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law, provided, that the  amend-
 ments  to subdivisions 9 and 10 of section 605 of the education law made
 by sections two and three of this act shall not affect  the  termination
 of  such  program  and  scholarship, respectively, and the amendments to
 section 677 of the education law made by section four of this act  shall
 not  affect the termination of such program as provided by section 17 of
 chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, as amended.