§ 904. Primary care practitioner scholarship program. 1. The
commissioner, in collaboration with the commissioner of education and
the president of the higher education services corporation, is
authorized and directed to establish a primary care practitioner
scholarship program to provide financial support to applicants to enter
or continue in a primary care practitioner program and who agree to
serve in underserved areas of New York state.

2. The commissioner is authorized, within amounts available pursuant
to subdivision nineteen-a of section twenty-eight hundred seven-c and
section twenty-eight hundred seven-l of this chapter, to make
scholarship awards pursuant to this section.

3. A scholarship recipient shall (a) be a resident of New York state
who attends or plans to attend a primary care practitioner program; and
(b) agree to practice as a primary care practitioner in an underserved
area of New York state.

4. In selecting students to be awarded scholarships, preference shall
be given to students who attend or plan to attend a primary care
practitioner program located in New York state. Priority in the
selection of recipients shall be given to recipients applying for second
year funding. Scholarships shall be awarded competitively using
selection criteria that include, but are not limited to: academic
performance, previous work experience in their chosen profession, and a
demonstrated interest or commitment in working with underserved
populations or in underserved areas.

5. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regulation provide, a
recipient of an award shall agree to practice in an underserved area of
this state for a period of eighteen months for each annual award to be
received by the recipient. In no case shall the total number of months
of service be less than eighteen. The commissioner shall secure from
each recipient a written agreement to:

(a) provide primary care services in an area designated as having a
shortage of primary care practitioners;

(b) work in a practice site that accepts payment on behalf of
beneficiaries of title XVIII of the federal social security act
(medicare) and individuals eligible for medical assistance pursuant to
title eleven of article five of the social services law; and

(c) provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care in the
designated shortage area being served.

6. If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the
president shall be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to
be determined by the formula:

A = 2B(t-s)

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t
in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover, "B" is
the sum of all awards 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
condition. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of
employment 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 canceled upon the death of the recipient. The
commissioner shall promulgate regulations to provide for the waiver or
suspension of any financial obligation when compliance would involve
extreme hardship.

7. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New York state
higher education services corporation, 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 provide primary
care services in an underserved area and continuing until the recipient
shall have completed, or until 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 recipient, 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.

8. The commissioner is authorized to apply any funds available for
purposes of subdivision two of this section for use as matching funds
for the federal community scholarship programs grants pursuant to
section three hundred thirty-eight L of the public health service act.