Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 195 - GEORGIA BOARD FOR HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE › Chapter 195-20 - GEORGIA PHYSICIAN LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM › Rule 195-20-.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. §
								49-10-1 and authorized to
			 administer the Georgia Physician Loan Repayment Program.
(2) "Georgia Physician Loan Repayment Program
			 (GPLRP)" refers to that program of the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
			 authorized under O.C.G.A. §
								31-34-1 et seq., and the U.S.
			 Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services
			 Administration (HRSA) which awards financial loans to physicians who desire to
			 practice in medically underserved rural communities of Georgia.
(3) "Loan" refers to the service repayable
			 grant awarded by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to physicians who
			 are desirous of becoming practicing physicians in rural, underserved areas of
			 Georgia. Pursuant to matching GPLRP/HRSA federal grants.
(4) "Loan Repayment" refers to repayment of
			 all or a portion of the recipient's outstanding medical education and training
			 loan debt.
(5) "Qualifying debt" is
			 any debt held by a Government (Federal, State or Local) and/or commercial loans
			 from an established lending institution, identifiable as origination from the
			 debt incurred to obtain a medical education, fully disclosed at the time of
			 application, and is currently not in default even if the creditor now considers
			 the defaulted loan to be in good standing.
(6) "Medical Education and Training Loan
			 Debt" refers to loans incurred by the applicant to finance his/her medical
			 education and training that remain unpaid during the contract period.
(7) "Eligible and Qualified Applicant" refers
			 to, as minimum qualifications, a physician with outstanding medical educational
			 and training loan debt, holding a current, unrestricted license to practice
			 medicine in the State of Georgia and not having any outstanding contractual
			 obligation for health professional service to the Federal Government, a State,
			 or other entity, who desires to serve in a Board-approved, medically
			 underserved rural area of Georgia.
(8) "Graduate Medical Education Training
			 Program" means a graduate medical education program located in the United
			 States which has received accreditation or provisional accreditation by the
			 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the American
			 Osteopathic Association 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 the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce/Georgia
			 Physician Loan Repayment Program.
(10) "Service Repayment" means the period of
			 service earned by the physician as approved by the Board, toward repayment of
			 the service cancelable loan in professional medical 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 incompliance with the
			 provisions of the contract. Credit is typically applied one year of funding for
			 each year of service rendered in compliance with the repayment provisions of
			 the contract.
(12) "Rural and
			 Underserved Area" means a the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce approved
			 rural county in Georgia with a population of 50,000 or less according to the
			 United States decennial census of 2010 or any future such census.
(13) "Health Professional Shortage Area," or
			 HPSA, means a geographic area designated by the federal Department of Health
			 and Human Services as requiring additional primary care or mental health
			 physicians to meet health care needs.
(14) "Contract Renewal" means the yearly
			 renewal of the loan repayment contract between the recipient and the Board. The
			 contract period shall be two years and may be renewed for two one-year periods
			 for a total not to exceed four (4) years and a total amount not exceeding
			 100,000.
(15) "Priority of
			 Specialty" refers to the priority of award consideration given to physician
			 applicants as determined on an annual basis by the Board and recorded in the
			 official minutes.
(16) "Award
			 Amount" refers to the annual amount obligated to a loan repayment recipient.
			 The Board shall determine the award amount. At its annual meeting, the Georgia
			 Board of Health Care Workforce 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.
(17) "Targeted County" means any of those
			 counties targeted by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce as an area of
			 severe medical need that is also designated by the federal government as a
			 Health Professional Shortage Area.
(18) "Default" means breach of contract by
			 the recipient in failing to begin or failing to complete the contractual
			 service obligation of the Georgia Physician Loan Repayment Program.
(19) "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 eight hours must be spent
			 providing inpatient care to patients and/or in practice-related administrative
			 activities. On-call hours are not considered part of the full time requirement.
			 Full time hours for an OB/GYN or Family Medicine physicians who practice OB are
			 considered at least 21 of the minimum 40 hours work week must be spent
			 providing direct patient care during normal clinic hours at the approved
			 practice site. The remaining hours must be spent providing inpatient care to
			 patients of the approved site, and/or in practice related administrative
			 activities not to exceed 8 hours per week. 40 hours per week for General
			 Surgery is combined clinical/office hours and surgery/inpatient care with no
			 more than 8 hours per week devoted to practice related administrative duties.
			 For all specialties employed under state jurisdiction, the full time equivalent
			 as recognized by the respective state or federal agency is acceptable. 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 in a service year will extend the service
			 commitment.
(20) "Practice" refers
			 to providing direct patient care in Board approved rural and underserved areas
			 located within the State of Georgia, which are also HPSAs designated as by
			 United States Department of Health and Human Service.
(21) "Direct Patient Care" refers to hands
			 on, face-to-face contact with patients for the purpose of diagnosis, treatment
			 and monitoring.
(22) "Non-Profit
			 Private Entity" means an entity which may not lawfully hold or use any part of
			 its net earnings to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and
			 which does not hold or use its net earnings for that purpose (42 C.F.R.
			 62.52).
(23) "For-Profit Health Facilities Operated
			 by Non-Profit Organizations" refers to those organizations that accept
			 reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance
			 Program, utilize a sliding fee scale, and see all patients regardless of their
			 ability to pay.
O.C.G.A. §
										49-10-1.