Iowa-2017-HF385-Introduced
House File 385 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY KRESSIG
(COMPANION TO lsb
2462ss by danielson)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act modifying the rural Iowa advanced registered nurse
2 practitioner and physician assistant loan repayment program
3 and fund and making occupational therapy students eligible
4 for the program.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 261.114, subsections 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and
1 2 10, Code 2017, are amended to read as follows:
1 3 1. Program established. A rural Iowa advanced registered
1 4 nurse practitioner and physician assistant health care
1 5 professional loan repayment program is established to be
1 6 administered by the college student aid commission for purposes
1 7 of providing loan repayments for advanced registered nurse
1 8 practitioner students, occupational therapy students, and
1 9 physician assistant students who agree to practice as advanced
1 10 registered nurse practitioners or physician assistants as
1 11 such in service commitment areas for five years and meet the
1 12 requirements of this section.
1 13 2. Eligibility. An individual is eligible to apply to enter
1 14 into a program agreement with the commission if the individual
1 15 is enrolled full=time in and receives a recommendation from
1 16 an eligible university in a curriculum leading to a doctorate
1 17 of nursing practice degree, a master's or doctorate of
1 18 occupational therapy degree, or a masters master's of physician
1 19 assistant studies degree.
1 20 3. Program agreements. A program agreement shall be
1 21 entered into by an eligible student and the commission when the
1 22 eligible student begins the final year of study in an academic
1 23 program leading to eligibility for licensure as a nurse
1 24 practitioner, occupational therapist, or physician assistant.
1 25 Under the agreement, to receive loan repayments pursuant to
1 26 subsection 5, an eligible student shall agree to and shall
1 27 fulfill all of the following requirements:
1 28 a. Receive a graduate=level credential qualifying the
1 29 credential recipient for a license to practice as an advanced
1 30 registered nurse practitioner pursuant to chapter 152, an
1 31 occupational therapist pursuant to chapter 148B, or a physician
1 32 assistant pursuant to chapter 148C.
1 33 b. Within nine months of receiving a degree and obtaining
1 34 a license in accordance with paragraph "a", engage in
1 35 the full=time practice as an advanced registered nurse
2 1 practitioner, an occupational therapist, or a physician
2 2 assistant for a period of five consecutive years in the service
2 3 commitment area specified under subsection 6, unless the loan
2 4 repayment recipient receives a waiver from the commission to
2 5 complete the years of practice required under the agreement in
2 6 another service commitment area pursuant to subsection 6.
2 7 7. Rules for additional loan repayment. The commission
2 8 shall adopt rules to provide, in addition to loan repayment
2 9 provided to eligible students pursuant to this section
2 10 and subject to the availability of surplus funds, loan
2 11 repayment to an advanced registered nurse practitioner, an
2 12 occupational therapist, or a physician assistant who, as
2 13 provided in subsection 3, received a degree from an eligible
2 14 university, obtained a license to practice in this state, and
2 15 is engaged in full=time practice as an advanced registered
2 16 nurse practitioner, an occupational therapist, or a physician
2 17 assistant in a service commitment area.
2 18 8. Part=time practice == agreement amended. A person who
2 19 entered into an agreement pursuant to subsection 3 may apply
2 20 to the commission to amend the agreement to allow the person
2 21 to engage in less than the full=time practice specified in
2 22 the agreement and under subsection 3. If the commission
2 23 determines exceptional circumstances exist, the commission
2 24 and the person may consent to amend the agreement under which
2 25 the person shall engage in less than full=time practice as
2 26 an advanced registered nurse practitioner, an occupational
2 27 therapist, or a physician assistant in a service commitment
2 28 area for an extended period of part=time practice determined by
2 29 the commission to be proportional to the amount of full=time
2 30 practice remaining under the original agreement.
2 31 10. Trust fund established. A rural Iowa advanced
2 32 registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant health
2 33 care professional trust fund is created in the state treasury
2 34 as a separate fund under the control of the commission.
2 35 The commission shall remit all repayments made pursuant to
3 1 this section to the rural Iowa advanced registered nurse
3 2 practitioner and physician assistant health care professional
3 3 trust fund. All moneys deposited or paid into the trust fund
3 4 are appropriated and made available to the commission to be
3 5 used for meeting the requirements of this section. Moneys in
3 6 the fund up to the total amount that an eligible student may
3 7 receive for an eligible loan in accordance with this section
3 8 and upon fulfilling the requirements of subsection 3 shall be
3 9 considered encumbered for the duration of the agreement entered
3 10 into pursuant to subsection 3. Notwithstanding section 8.33,
3 11 any balance in the fund on June 30 of each fiscal year shall not
3 12 revert to the general fund of the state, but shall be available
3 13 for purposes of this section in subsequent fiscal years.
3 14 Sec. 2. Section 261.114, subsection 9, paragraph c,
3 15 subparagraph (3), Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
3 16 (3) The person who entered into the agreement, due to a
3 17 permanent disability, is unable to practice as an advanced
3 18 registered nurse practitioner, occupational therapist, or
3 19 physician assistant.
3 20 Sec. 3. Section 261.114, subsection 11, paragraph c, Code
3 21 2017, is amended to read as follows:
3 22 c. "Service commitment area" means a city in Iowa with a
3 23 population of less than twenty=six thousand that is located
3 24 more than twenty miles from a city with a population of
3 25 fifty thousand or more and which provides a two thousand
3 26 dollar contribution for deposit in the rural Iowa advanced
3 27 registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant health
3 28 care professional trust fund for each advanced registered nurse
3 29 practitioner, occupational therapist, or physician assistant in
3 30 the community who is participating in the rural Iowa advanced
3 31 registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant health
3 32 care professional loan repayment program.
3 33 EXPLANATION
3 34 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
3 35 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
4 1 This bill modifies the rural Iowa advanced registered nurse
4 2 practitioner and physician assistant loan repayment program and
4 3 fund by changing the names of the program and fund to the rural
4 4 Iowa health professional loan repayment program and rural Iowa
4 5 health professional loan repayment trust fund, and by making
4 6 occupational therapy students eligible for the program.
4 7 Currently, an eligible student may enter into a program
4 8 agreement in the student's final year of study in an academic
4 9 program leading to eligibility for licensure as a nurse
4 10 practitioner or physician assistant. Under the agreement,
4 11 to receive loan repayments, an eligible student must receive
4 12 a graduate=level credential and license to practice as an
4 13 advanced registered nurse practitioner or physician assistant
4 14 and, within nine months of receiving the degree and obtaining
4 15 a license, must engage in full=time practice as an advanced
4 16 registered nurse practitioner or physician assistant for a
4 17 period of five consecutive years in a service commitment area,
4 18 which is defined as a city in Iowa with a population of less
4 19 than 26,000 that is located more than 20 miles from a city with
4 20 a population of 50,000 or more and which provides a $2,000
4 21 contribution for deposit in the trust fund for each advanced
4 22 registered nurse practitioner or physician assistant in the
4 23 community who is participating in the program.
4 24 The maximum amount of loan repayment an eligible student can
4 25 receive under the agreement is $4,000 annually for up to five
4 26 consecutive years and a total of $20,000.
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