SECTIONS 127925-127933 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 127925-127933

127925. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
California Medical and Dental Student Loan Repayment Program of 2002.

127926. It is the intent of this article that the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development, in consultation with the
Dental Board of California, the Medical Board of California, the
medical and dental community, including ethnic representatives,
medical and dental schools, health advocates representing ethnic
communities, primary care clinics, public hospitals and health
systems, statewide agencies administering state and federally funded
programs targeting underserved communities, and members of the public
with health care issue area expertise shall develop and implement
the California Medical and Dental Student Loan Repayment Program of
2002.

127927. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development the California Medical and Dental
Student Loan Repayment Program of 2002.
(b) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development shall
operate the California Medical and Dental Student Loan Repayment
Program of 2002 in accordance with, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) Increased efforts in educating medical and dental students and
medical residents of the need for physicians and dentists in
underserved communities, and of programs that are available that
provide incentives, financial and otherwise, to practice in settings
and areas in need.
(2) Strategic collaboration with California medical and dental
schools and postgraduate programs to better prepare physicians and
dentists to meet the distinctive cultural and medical needs of
underserved populations.
(3) Encourage the University of California and other medical and
dental schools to increase the number of medical and dental students
and medical residency program positions.
(4) Establish, encourage, and expand programs for medical and
dental students and medical residents for mentoring at primary and
secondary schools, and college levels to increase the number of
students entering the medical and dental sciences.
(5) Administer financial or other incentives to encourage new or
experienced physicians and dentists to practice in underserved areas.

127928. For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Program" means the California Medical and Dental Student Loan
Repayment Program of 2002.
(b) (1) "Medically underserved area" means an area as defined in
Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or
an area of the state where unmet priority needs for physicians
exists as determined by the California Healthcare Workforce Policy
Commission pursuant to Section 128225 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Dentally underserved area" means a geographic area eligible
to be designated as having a shortage of dental professionals
pursuant to Part I of Appendix B to Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42
of the Code of Federal Regulations or an area of the state where
unmet priority needs for dentists exist as determined by the
California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission pursuant to Section
128224 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) (1) "Medically underserved population" means the Medi-Cal,
Healthy Families and uninsured population.
(2) "Dentally underserved population" means persons without dental
insurance and persons eligible for the Denti-Cal and Healthy
Families Programs who are population groups described as having a
shortage of dental care professionals in Part I of Appendix B to Part
5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) "Medi-Cal threshold languages" means primary languages spoken
by limited-English-proficient (LEP) population groups meeting a
numeric threshold of 3,000 eligible LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in a county, 1,000 Medi-Cal eligible LEP beneficiaries
residing in a single ZIP Code, or 1,500 LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in two contiguous ZIP Codes.
(e) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.

127929. (a) The office shall administer the California Medical and
Dental Student Loan Repayment Program of 2002. Any individual
enrolled in an institution of postsecondary education participating
in the program set forth in this article may be eligible to receive a
conditional warrant for loan repayment, to be redeemed upon becoming
employed as a physician or dentist in a medically underserved area
or a dentally underserved area serving primarily medically or
dentally underserved populations. In order to be eligible to receive
a conditional loan repayment warrant, an applicant shall satisfy all
of the following conditions:
(1) The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary
institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that
may include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
(A) Grade point average.
(B) Test scores.
(C) Faculty evaluations.
(D) Interviews.
(E) Other recommendations.
(2) In order to meet the costs associated with obtaining a medical
or dental degree, the applicant has received, or is approved to
receive, a loan under one or more of the following designated loan
programs:
(A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (10 U.S.C. Sec. 1071
et seq.).
(B) Any loan program approved by the Student Aid Commission.
(3) The applicant has agreed to provide services as a licensed
physician for up to three consecutive years, after obtaining a
license from the Medical Board of California in a medically
underserved area, or the applicant has agreed to provide services as
a licensed dentist for up to three consecutive years, after obtaining
a license from the Dental Board of California in a dentally
underserved area.
(4) The applicant has agreed to work in a setting where the
applicant will primarily serve medically or dentally underserved
populations.
(b) The office shall ensure that priority consideration be given
to applicants who are best suited to meet the cultural and linguistic
needs and demands of medically and dentally underserved populations
and who meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.
(2) Come from an economically disadvantaged background.
(3) Have received significant training in cultural and
linguistically appropriate service delivery.
(4) Have done a medical rotation serving medically underserved
populations or provided dental services to members of a dentally
underserved population.
(c) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not receive more than one warrant.
(d) The office shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the
reallocation of warrants if a participating institution is unable to
utilize its allocated warrants or is unable to distribute them within
a reasonable time period.

127930. The office, in accordance with Section 127926, shall
develop the process to redeem an applicant's warrant and commence
loan repayment.

127931. (a) The office shall distribute student applications to
participate in the program to postsecondary institutions eligible to
participate in the state and federal financial aid programs and that
have a program of professional preparation that has been approved by
the Medical Board of California or the Dental Board of California.
Each eligible institution shall receive at least one application.
(b) Each participating institution shall sign an institutional
agreement with the office, certifying its intent to administer the
program according to all applicable published rules, regulations, and
guidelines, and shall make special efforts to notify students
regarding the availability of the program, particularly to
economically disadvantaged students.
(c) To the extent feasible, the office and each participating
institution shall coordinate this program with other existing
programs designed to recruit or encourage students to enter the
medical and dental professions. These programs shall include, but not
be limited to, the following:
(1) The Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act.
(2) The Health Education and Academic Loan Act.
(3) The National Health Service Corp.

127932. (a) The office, in accordance with Section 127926, shall
administer this program, and shall adopt rules and regulations for
that purpose. The rules and regulations shall include, but not be
limited to, provisions regarding the period of time for which a
warrant shall remain valid, the reallocation of warrants that are not
utilized, and the development of projections for funding purposes.
(b) The office shall work in conjunction with lenders
participating in federal or similar loan programs to develop a
streamlined application process for participation in the program set
forth in this article.

127933. (a) The office shall establish a fund to utilize for the
purposes of this article.
(b) The office may seek matching funds from foundations and
private sources. The office may also contract with an exempt
foundation for the receipt of matching funds to be transferred to the
fund for use by this program.
(c) The provisions of this article shall not become operative
unless appropriate funding, as determined by the office, is made
available.