Illinois Administrative Code › Title 77 - PUBLIC HEALTH › Part 582 - STATE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM CODE › Subpart A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 582.10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
"Accredited school" means a college or university in which a
				  degree in allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry or an equivalent
				  credential for a health program is earned and for which the Council for Higher
				  Education Accreditation (
www.chea.org
) or its
				  affiliates has determined that the school meets specific standards for its
				  programs, faculty and curriculum. A person who earns a degree from an
				  unaccredited school is unable to participate in the State Loan Repayment
				  Program.
"Administrative duties" means charting, research, attending
				  meetings and other non-treatment activities pertaining to the health care
				  professional's practice.
"Administrative law judge" shall have the meaning ascribed in
				  the Department's Practice and Procedure in Administrative Hearings.
"
Advanced practice registered nurse
" or
				  "APRN"
means a person who has met the qualifications for a certified
				  nurse midwife (CNM); certified nurse practitioner (CNP); certified registered
				  nurse anesthetist (CRNA); or clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and has been
				  licensed by the
Illinois
Department of
Financial and
Professional Regulation
. (Section 50-10 of the Nurse Practice
				  Act)
"Allopathic medicine" means the use of pharmacological agents
				  or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or processes of
				  diseases or conditions.
"Applicant" means a health care professional or medical
				  facility that applies for loan repayment assistance funds.
"Approved graduate training" means training in medicine,
				  dentistry or other health professions that leads to eligibility for board
				  certification, provides evidence of completion, is approved by the appropriate
				  health care professional's body, and is in a specialty needed by the National
				  Health Service Corps.
"Authorized representative" means a person who has authority
				  to act on behalf of the applicant or grantee, including but not limited to the
				  applicant's or grantee's attorney at law. Authorized representatives are: for a
				  corporation, any of its officers or members of its board of directors; for a
				  limited liability company, any of its managers or members; for a partnership,
				  any of its general partners; and for a sole proprietor, the individual who is
				  the sole proprietor.
"Board certified physician" means a physician who has passed
				  a medical specialty examination and who has maintained certification of that
				  specialty from a nationally recognized medical specialty board certification
				  body.
"Board eligible physician" means a physician who has
				  completed the requirements for admission to a medical specialty board
				  examination but has not yet taken and passed the examination or a physician who
				  had board certification but did not maintain that certification and must take a
				  medical specialty board examination again.
"Breach of service obligation" means failure for any reason
				  to begin or complete a contractual service commitment.
"Calendar day" means all days in a month or prescribed time
				  frame. It includes weekends and federal or State government declared
				  holidays.
"Center" means the Center for Rural Health of the Illinois
				  Department of Public Health.
"Certificate of Naturalization" means a document to prove
				  that the person named in the certificate has obtained U.S. citizenship through
				  naturalization.
"Certified local health department" means a county,
				  multi-county, municipal or district public health agency recognized by the
				  Department under the Certified Local Health Department Code.
"Certified Mail" means U.S. Mail for which proof of delivery
				  is obtained.
"Children's Health Insurance Program" or "CHIP" means health
				  coverage that is provided to eligible children, through the Illinois Department
				  of Healthcare and Family Services.
"Commercial loans" means loans made by banks, credit unions,
				  savings and loan associations, insurance companies, schools and other financial
				  institutions.
"Committee" means the Advisory Committee for
				  Residence Programs created by this Act.
(Section
				  3.03 of the Underserved Health
				  Care Provider Workforce Act)
"Community health center" or "CHC" means a migrant health
				  center, community health center, health care program for the homeless or for
				  residents of public housing supported under Section 330 of the federal Public
				  Health Service Act, or FQHC, including FQHC Look-Alikes, as designated by the
				  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that operate at least one
				  federally designated primary health care delivery site in Illinois.
"Default" means failure to meet the legal obligations or
				  conditions of a loan.
"Deferment" means the temporary delay or postponement of a
				  health care professional's service obligation.
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
				  Health.
(Section
				  3.01 of the Underserved Health
				  Care Provider Workforce Act)
"Dentist" means a person licensed to practice dentistry under
				  the Illinois Dental Practice Act.
"Direct patient care" means care of a patient provided by a
				  health care professional. It may involve any aspect of the health care of a
				  patient, including diagnostic and treatment services; support services such as
				  laboratory, radiologic, and pharmacy; counseling; in-service for self-care;
				  patient education; and administration of medication.
"Director" means the Director of the Illinois
				  Department of Public Health
. (Section
				  3.02 of the Underserved Health
				  Care Provider Workforce Act)
"Due diligence" means action taken toward the completion of a
				  project with the diligence and foresight that persons of ordinary prudence and
				  care would exercise under similar circumstances.
"Educational loan repayment award" or "award" means the
				  amount of funding awarded to a health care professional based upon reasonable
				  educational expenses, up to a maximum established by the program.
"Federally Qualified Health Center" or "FQHC" means a health
				  center funded under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act.
"Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike" or "FQHC
				  Look-Alike" means a health center that meets the requirements for receiving a
				  grant under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act but does not receive
				  funding under that authority.
"Fiscal year" means the financial operating year of Illinois
				  State government. It begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the next calendar
				  year.
"Forbearance" means a postponement of loan payments by a
				  lender for a temporary period of time to give the borrower time to make up for
				  overdue payments.
"Full-time clinical practice" means working a minimum of 40
				  hours per week, for a minimum of 45 weeks per service year, at a medical
				  facility in an HPSA in Illinois.
"Funding year" means the 12-month period beginning September
				  1 and ending on August 31 of the following year.
"
Grantor agency
" means
any agency of
				  State government which dispenses grant funds.
(Section 2(a) of the
				  Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act)
"Grant funds" means
public funds dispensed
by the Department
to any person or entity for obligation, expenditures
				  or use for a specific purpose.
(Section 2(b) of the
Illinois
				  Grant Funds Recovery Act
)
"Government loans" means loans made by federal, State, county
				  or city agencies authorized to make those loans.
"Half-time clinical practice" means working a minimum of 20
				  hours per week but no more than 39 hours per week, for a minimum of 45 weeks
				  per service year, at a medical facility in an HPSA in Illinois.
"Health care professional" means, but is not limited to, a
				  physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or dentist
				  who receives loan repayment assistance.
"Health professional shortage area" or "HPSA" means a
				  designation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health
				  Resources and Services Administration that indicates the shortage of primary
				  medical care, dental or mental health providers. The HPSA designation may be
				  geographic (a county or service area), population group (low income, Medicaid
				  eligible) or facility (comprehensive health center, FQHC or other public
				  facility). HPSA designations can be found at
http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov/
.
"Health professional shortage area score" or "HPSA score"
				  means the HPSA shortage severity score calculated by the U.S. Department of
				  Health and Human Services that is assigned to areas or facilities having a
				  health professional shortage designation to determine priorities for assignment
				  of clinicians.
"Illinois resident" means a person who is a resident of
				  Illinois at the time of application for educational loan repayment assistance
				  and who is a citizen of the United States.
"Judgment lien" means a court ruling that gives a creditor
				  the right to take possession of a debtor's real property if the debtor has not
				  fulfilled a contractual obligation.
"Lender" means the commercial or government entity that made
				  the qualifying loan.
"Loan repayment agreement" or "agreement" means the written
				  instrument defining a legal relationship entered into between the Department
				  and a recipient.
"Loan repayment award" or "award" means the amount of funding
				  awarded to a recipient based upon his/her reasonable educational expenses, up
				  to a maximum established by the program.
"Medicaid" means a federal and state-funded health insurance
				  program for low-income individuals and families.
"Medical facility" means a facility for the delivery
				  of health services and includes a hospital, State mental health institution,
				  public health center, outpatient medical facility, rehabilitation facility,
				  long term care facility, community mental health center, migrant health center,
				  a community health center, or a State correctional institution.
(Section 3.08 of the Underserved Health
				  Care Provider Workforce Act.
"Medicare" means the federal government's health insurance
				  program for: people who are 65 or older; certain younger people with
				  disabilities; and people with End-Stage Renal Disease.
"Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "MSA" means one or more
				  adjacent counties that have at least one urban core area of at least 50,000 in
				  population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and
				  economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
"National Health Service Corps" or "NHSC" means the program
				  within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address health
				  professional shortages in HPSAs through the assignment of clinicians to provide
				  primary health services.
"Not-for-profit corporation" means a corporation
				  subject to
the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986.
				  (Section 101.80(m) of
				  the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986)
"Null and void" means that a loan repayment application
				  submitted to the Department has no legal force and is invalid.
"On call" means a referring status in which a physician can
				  be reached and arrive at a hospital within 30 minutes after being paged.
"Osteopathic medicine" means medical practice based on the
				  theory that diseases are due to loss of structural integrity, which can be
				  restored by manipulation of the parts, supplemented by therapeutic
				  measures.
"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in
				  all of its branches under the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
"Physician assistant" means an individual licensed under the
				  Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987.
"Primary care" means health care that encompasses prevention
				  services, basic diagnostic and treatment services, and support services,
				  including laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy.
"Primary care physician" means a person licensed to
				  practice medicine in all its branches
in Illinois
under the
				  Medical Practice Act of 1987 with a specialty in Family Practice, Internal
				  Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Pediatrics, geriatrics, or
				  hospital medicine
as defined by recognized standards of professional
				  medical practice
. (Section
				  3.05 of the Underserved Health
				  Care Provider Workforce Act)
"Primary care physician" includes a
				  general internist, family physician, or general pediatrician.
(Section
				  3.10 of the Underserved Health
				  Care Provider Workforce Act)
"Primary health services" means health services regarding
				  family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology,
				  dentistry or mental health that are provided by physicians or other health care
				  professionals.
"Psychiatrist" means a physician licensed to practice
				  medicine in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 who has
				  successfully completed an accredited residency program in psychiatry.
"Public facility" means any facility, including, but not
				  limited to, buildings, property, recreation areas, and roads, which are owned,
				  leased, or otherwise operated, or funded by a governmental body or public
				  entity.
"Qualifying loan" means government or commercial loans used
				  for tuition and reasonable educational and living expenses related to
				  undergraduate or graduate education that were obtained by the recipient prior
				  to his/her application for loan repayment. These loans shall be contemporaneous
				  with the education received.
"Reasonable educational expenses" means costs for education,
				  exclusive of tuition. These costs include, but are not limited to, fees, books,
				  supplies, clinical travel, educational equipment, materials, board
				  certification or licensing examinations. These costs shall not exceed the
				  estimated standard budget for expenses for the degree program and for the years
				  of enrollment.
"Reasonable living expenses" means room and board,
				  transportation and commuting costs. These expenses shall not exceed the
				  estimated standard budget for the recipient's degree program and for the years
				  of enrollment.
"Recipient" means a health care professional or medical
				  facility that may use loan repayment funds.
"Rural" means any geographic area not located in an MSA; or a
				  county located in an MSA but having a population of 60,000 or less; or a
				  community located within an MSA but having a population of 2,500 or
				  less.
"Rural health clinic" means a facility certified by the U.S.
				  Department of Health and Human Services that receives special Medicare or
				  Medicaid reimbursement.
"Service obligation" means a health care professional who
				  practices full-time or half-time at a medical facility in an HPSA in
				  Illinois.
"SLRP" means the State Loan Repayment Program created by this
				  Part.
"State" means the State of Illinois.
"Submission of application" means an educational loan
				  repayment application has been received by the Department by the established
				  deadline. Submission does not mean that the application is postmarked by the
				  established submission deadline but arrives at the Department on a later
				  date.
"Suspension" means an action by the Department to suspend a
				  recipient's participation in Department grant and loan repayment programs for a
				  specified period of time.
"Teaching" means providing clinical education to students or
				  residents in their area of expertise at a medical facility.
"Termination for cause" means termination of employment
				  caused by the individual's dishonesty, willful misconduct, breach of fiduciary
				  duty, intentional failure to perform stated duties, or willful violation of any
				  law, rule or regulation (other than minor traffic violations or similar
				  offenses).
"Termination without cause" means termination of the
				  individual's employment for the convenience of the employer.
"Toll" or "Tolling" means to delay or postpone an obligation
				  for a specific time period.
"Total and permanent disability" means a physical or mental
				  impairment, disease, or loss of a permanent nature that prevents employment
				  with or without reasonable accommodation.
"United States citizen" means an individual born in the
				  United States;
Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899; Canal Zone of
				  the Republic of Panama on or after February 26, 1904; Virgin Islands on or
				  after January 17, 1917; Guam born after April 11, 1899; or Commonwealth of the
				  Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on or after November 4, 1986
;
				  foreign-born children, under age 18, residing in the U.S. with their birth or
				  adoptive parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen by birth or
				  naturalization; and individuals granted citizenship status by the U.S.
				  Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Immigration Service. (See,
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-a-chapter-2
;
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-5
)
"Unencumbered license" means a license issued in good
				  standing that is free of disciplinary limitations.
"Urban" means any geographic area that does not meet this
				  Section's definition of "rural".
"Waiver" means to permanently relieve a health care
				  professional's service obligation, expressly put forth in
				  writing.