Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 195 - GEORGIA BOARD FOR HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE › Chapter 195-15 - PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS (PA) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM › Rule 195-15-.01 - General Definitions

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) "Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce"
			 means the organization and its office created under O.C.G.A.
			 49-10.
(2) "Loan" refers to the service repayable
			 grant awarded by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to applicants who
			 are desirous of becoming physician assistants practicing in rural areas of
			 Georgia.
(3) "Loan Repayment"
			 refers to repayment of all or a portion of recipient's outstanding physician
			 assistant education loan debt. Qualifying debt is held by an established
			 lending institution, identifiable as originating from the debt incurred to
			 obtain a physician assistants education and fully disclosed at the time of
			 application.
(4) "Physician
			 assistant" means a skilled person who is licensed to a supervising physician
			 and who is qualified by academic and practical training to provide patients'
			 services not necessarily within the physical presence but under the personal
			 direction or supervision of the supervising physician.
(5) "Qualified Debt" is any debt incurred to
			 obtain an education as a physician assistant, fully disclosed at the time of
			 application, and is currently not in default. Even if a creditor now considers
			 the defaulted loan to be in good standing, such debt shall not be considered
			 Qualified Debt.
(6) "Physician
			 Assistant Education Loan Debt" refers to loans incurred by the applicant to
			 finance his/her Physician Assistant education that remains unpaid during the
			 contract period.
(7) "Eligible and
			 Qualified Applicant" refers to, as minimum qualifications, a physician
			 assistant with outstanding medical education loan debt, licensed to practice as
			 a physician assistant in the State of Georgia who desires to serve in a
			 Board-approved, rural area of Georgia.
(8) "Physician Assistant Program" means an
			 institution of medical education that received accreditation or provisional
			 accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the
			 Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) or National Commission on Certification of
			 Physician Assistants on a program in medical education designed to qualify the
			 graduate for licensure by the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
(9) "Recipient" means any person who receives
			 any amount of funding from Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce Physician
			 Assistants for Rural Areas Assistance Program of the Georgia Board for
			 Physician Workforce.
(10) "Service
			 Repayment" means the period of service earned by the physician assistant, as
			 approved by the Board, toward repayment of the service cancelable loan
			 physician assistant services rendered by the recipient and as required under
			 the provisions of the loan contract.
(11) "Credit" means that amount of time
			 credited to the recipient for services rendered in compliance with the
			 provisions of the contract. Credit is applied one year of funding for each year
			 of service rendered in compliance with the repayment provisions of the
			 contract, but may be prorated at the Board's discretion and
			 determination.
(12) "Rural and
			 Underserved Area" is defined as a Board approved rural county in Georgia of
			 50,000 population or less according to the United States decennial census of
			 2010 or any future such census or at any hospital or facility operated directly
			 by of the Department of Public Health, Department of Community Health,
			 Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Department of
			 Human Resources, Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile
			 Justice. Facilities falling under the direct jurisdiction of the mentioned
			 state agencies must include physician assistant employment by approved agency
			 or, in case of contracted employment, the PA must be treating patients of the
			 approved agency with equal provisions given to that agency's
			 missions.
(13) "Contract Renewal"
			 means the yearly renewal of the loan repayment contract between the recipient
			 and the Board. The contract period shall be renewable on a one-year basis for a
			 period not exceeding four years and a total amount not exceeding
			 $40,000.00,
(14) "Award Amount"
			 refers to the annual amount obligated to a loan repayment recipient. The award
			 amount shall be determined by the Board. At its annual meeting, the Board may,
			 within its discretion, set the award amount for new loans within the limit of
			 the appropriated funds for the budget year. Said amount shall be set forth in
			 the official minutes of the Board.
(15) "Default" means breach of contract by
			 the recipient in failing to begin or failing to complete the contractual
			 service obligation of the Physician Assistants for Rural Areas Assistance
			 Program.
(16) "Ad Damnum or Double
			 Damages" refers to the penalty resulting from a loan repayment recipient
			 defaulting on their contractual obligations. Default requires immediate
			 repayment of double the total principal amount received less any pro-rated
			 amount for repaid service as provided in the contract.
(17) "Cancellation of Contract" refers to the
			 discretionary power of the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to cancel any
			 contract for cause deemed sufficient by the Board, provided such authority is
			 not exercised unreasonably or arbitrarily.
(18) "Full Time" refers to 40 hours of work
			 required per week to fulfill service obligations. Full time is considered at
			 least 32 clinical hours providing direct patient care during normal clinic
			 hours at the approved practice site. Remaining hours must be spent providing
			 practice-related administrative activities. On-call hours are not considered
			 part of the full time requirement. No more than 7 weeks (35 workdays) per year
			 can be spent away from the practice for vacation, holidays, continuing
			 professional education, illness or any other reason. Absences greater than 7
			 weeks a year will extend the service commitment. The practice time requirement
			 can be split between two or more counties, provided that none of the practice
			 location counties exceeds the 50,000 population limit.
(19) "Compelling Reasons" refers to
			 conditions such as a life threatening illness or loss of ability to perform the
			 duties of a PA or to be gainfully employed due to illness or accident. The
			 Board may consent to a lesser measure of damages for compelling
			 reasons.
O.C.G.A. §
										49-10-1.