S3631

An Act establishing the Allied Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program and supplementing chapter 71C of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

“Allied Health Care Professional” means an individual who provides professional services and is licensed or certified in New Jersey by a professional or occupational licensing board or other State agency, as any of the following: respiratory specialists, phlebotomists, diagnostic medical sonographers, dieticians, medical technologists, occupational and physical therapists, radiographers, speech language pathologists, home health aides, certified nursing assistants, advance practice registered nurses, clinical nurse specialists, medical assistants, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, radiation therapists, medical secretaries, radiological technologists, ultrasound technologists, surgical technologists, pharmacy technicians, other clinical support professionals, culinary professionals, and any other professionals, except for physicians, identified by the executive director for inclusion in the program.

“Authority” means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

“Eligible qualifying loan expenses” means the cumulative outstanding balance of student loans covering the cost of attendance in an undergraduate or graduate degree program offered by an institution of higher education or other credentialing program offered by a licensed proprietary institution required to practice in an allied health care profession at the time the applicant is selected for the program. Interest paid or due on qualifying loans that an applicant has taken out for use in paying the costs of postsecondary education required to practice in an allied health care profession shall be considered eligible for reimbursement under the program.

“Executive director” means the executive director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

“Health care facility” means a health care facility licensed by the Department of Health pursuant to the “Health Care Facilities Planning Act,” P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.).

“Program” means the Allied Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program established pursuant to this act.

“Program participant” means an allied health care professional who contracts with the authority to provide services at a health care facility, or in the case of an allied health care professional who is a home health aide provides services in a home, in exchange for the redemption of eligible qualifying loan expenses.

“Qualifying loan” means a government or commercial loan for the actual costs paid for tuition and reasonable education and living expenses relating to obtaining a degree or required credential necessary for an individual to seek employment as an allied health care professional.

“Total and permanent disability” means a physical or mental disability that is expected to continue indefinitely or result in death and renders a program participant unable to perform that person’s service obligation, as determined by the executive director.

2. There is established an Allied Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program within the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. The program shall provide for the redemption of a portion of the eligible qualifying loan expenses of program participants for each year of service as a program participant for up to four one-year periods.

3. To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant shall:

a. be a resident of the State;

b. have obtained a degree or credential in an allied health care professional field; and

c. agree to practice as an allied health care professional as a program participant pursuant to the provisions of this act.

4. a. An allied health care professional may apply to the authority for loan redemption in such manner as prescribed by the authority.

b. A program participant shall enter into a contract with the authority to participate in the program. The contract shall:

(1) include the duration of the program participant’s required service and the total amount of eligible qualifying loan expenses to be redeemed by the authority in return for service;

(2) require a program participant be employed for at least one year in a full-time position in the State in the allied health care profession for which the individual is licensed or certified prior to receipt of any loan redemption funds under the program; and

(3) stipulate that a program participant has knowledge of and agrees to serve a three-month probationary period upon the commencement of employment as a program participant.

5. a. A program participant, as a condition of participation, shall be required to adhere to performance standards established by the executive director.

b. The standards shall include, but not be limited to, requirements that a participant:

(1) maintain residency in the State;

(2) maintain a license or certification to practice as an allied health care professional in the State;

(3) remain current with payments on student loans;

(4) maintain satisfactory performance of services rendered; and

(5) report to the authority, on a form and in a manner prescribed the by the authority, on the program participant’s performance of services rendered prior to repayment of the annual amount eligible for redemption.

6. a. The redemption of loans under the program shall not exceed an amount, which is to be determined by the executive director, of principal and interest of eligible qualifying loan expenses in return for each consecutive full year of service for up to four one-year periods.

b. The executive director shall determine the total amount of qualifying eligible loan expenses that may be redeemed under the program.

7. a. The executive director shall select the program participants from among those applicants who meet the eligibility criteria established pursuant to section 3 of this act, subject to available funds. In the event there are insufficient funds to select all of the applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, the executive director shall accord priority to applicants in the following manner:

(1) applicants who have an offer of employment at a health care facility or with a home health aide agency;

(2) applicants employed, or seeking employment, in an allied health care profession with employee shortages;

(3) applicants whose income is up to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level for the year the applicant is applying for the qualifying loan, as determined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services;

(4) applicants whose health care facility is an acute care hospital or affiliated subsidiary that provides comprehensive pediatric care, behavioral health care, preventative care, or primary care services; and

(5) applicants who graduated from a high school or postsecondary institution located in the State.

b. In the event the executive director is required to select program participants pursuant to the priority list established under subsection a. of this section and there are more applicants within a priority category than there are program positions, the executive director shall select program participants by means of a lottery.

8. a. A program participant who has entered into a redemption contract with the authority may nullify that contract by submitting written notification to the authority and assuming full responsibility for repayment of the full amount of the participant’s loan or that portion of the loan that has not been redeemed by the State in return for partial fulfillment of the contract.

b. A program participant seeking to nullify the contract before completing a second full year of service shall be required to pay 50 percent of the redeemed portion of indebtedness in not more than one year following nullification of the agreement.

c. In the case of a program participant’s death or total or permanent disability, the authority shall nullify the service obligation of the participant, thereby terminating the participant’s service obligation; or where continued enforcement of the contract may result in extreme hardship, the authority may nullify or suspend the participant’s service obligation.

d. In no event shall service for than less a full calendar year entitle the program participant to any benefits under the program.

9. An allied health care professional who is participating in any other State tuition or loan redemption program, or in the federally administered National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, section 338B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. s.254 l-1), shall not be eligible to participate simultaneously in the Allied Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program.

10. The authority shall work with institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions that offer degrees and credentials in allied health care professions to ensure that information on the program is made available to students upon enrollment.

11. The authority shall annually submit a report on the program to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature. The report shall be submitted no later than August 1 of each year and shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for the prior fiscal year:

a. the total number of participants receiving loan redemption under the program;

b. the total amount of loan redemption provided through the program;

c. a profile of program participants, including demographic information and allied health care professional specialty, information on the employers of program participants, and the last institutions from which program participants received a degree or professional credential;

d. the average annual loan redemption amount and the five-year average loan redemption amount of program participants, as applicable;

e. the total number of allied health care professionals who have completed the program and remained licensed or certified to practice in the State; and

f. the effect of the program on meeting the demand for labor in allied health care professional fields in the State.

12. The authority shall adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) any rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

13. There is annually appropriated from the General Fund to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority such sums as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

14. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the Allied Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program. The program is to provide for the redemption of a portion of the eligible qualifying loan expenses of program participants for each year of service as a program participant for up to four one-year periods.

To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant is required to: (1) be a resident of the State, (2) have obtained a degree or credential in an allied health care professional field, and (3) agree to practice as an allied health care professional as a program participant.

A program participant is required to enter into a contract with the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) that: (1) includes the duration of the program participant’s required service and total amount of qualifying student loan expenses to be redeemed by HESAA; (2) requires a program participant to serve for at least one year in a full-time position in the allied health care profession practice area for which the allied health care professional is licensed or certified prior to receipt of any loan redemption funds; and (3) stipulates that a program participant has knowledge of and agrees to serve a three-month probationary period upon the commencement of employment as a program participant.

Under the bill, a program participant is required to adhere to performance standards established by the executive director. The bill directs the executive director of HESAA to determine the amount of eligible principal and interest that is to be eligible for redemption per year and in total.

The bill directs the executive director of HESAA to select program participants from among those applicants who meet the eligibility criteria established under the bill, subject to available funds, and establishes a priority ranking in the event there are insufficient funds to select all of the applicants who meet the eligibility criteria.

The bill permits a program participant to nullify a contract entered into under the provisions of the bill by submitting written notification to HESAA and assuming full responsibility for repayment of the full amount of the loan or the portion of the loan that has not yet been redeemed by the State. A program participant that seeks to nullify the contract before completing a second full year of service is required to pay 50 percent of the redeemed portion of indebtedness in not more than one year following nullification of the agreement. The bill requires HESAA to nullify a program participant’s service obligation in the case of the participant’s death or total permanent disability and permits HESAA to nullify or suspend a participant’s service obligation where continued enforcement of the contract may result in extreme hardship.

The bill stipulates that an allied health care professional who is participating in any other State tuition or loan redemption program or the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program is not eligible to participate in the Allied Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program. Under the bill, HESAA is to submit a report on the program to the Governor and Legislature by August 1 of each year.

Finally, the bill annually appropriates from the General Fund to HESAA such sums as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill.