Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 19 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SENIOR SERVICES › Division 10 - Office of the Director › Chapter 3 - General and Family Physician Loan and Training Programs › Section 19 CSR 10-3.060 - Health Professional Loan Repayment Program

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule establishes guidelines for
				  implementing the Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP) that will
				  reduce the burden of educational debt among selected health care, mental
				  health, and public health professionals in return for providing health care,
				  mental health, and public health services in areas of defined
				  need.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The secretary of state has
				  determined that the publication of the entire text of the material which is
				  incorporated by reference as a portion of this rule would be unduly cumbersome
				  or expensive. This material as incorporated by reference in this rule shall be
				  maintained by the agency at its headquarters and shall be made available to the
				  public for inspection and copying at no more than the actual cost of
				  reproduction. This note applies only to the reference material. The entire text
				  of the rule is printed here.
(1) Definitions. The following definitions
				shall be used in the interpretation and enforcement of this rule:
(A) Area of defined need means a geographic
				area, population, or field of work designated by the Missouri Department of
				Health and Senior Services as experiencing a shortage of health care, mental
				health, or public health care services;
(B) Awardee means a health care, mental
				health, or public health professional who applied to and was selected by the
				department to participate in the Health Professional Loan Repayment Program
				(HPLRP);
(C) Breach of written
				contract means failing to begin or complete service obligation, failing to
				submit employment verification surveys to the department annually, upon the
				request of the department, or within thirty (30) days of any change in
				employment, or failing to submit verification that awarded funds were applied
				to educational debt prior to the service obligation end date;
(D) Default means failure to repay any amount
				awarded as a loan, by the department directly to the individual who entered
				into the contract, which has not yet been forgiven;
(E) Department means the Missouri Department
				of Health and Senior Services;
(F)
				Director means the Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior
				Services;
(G) Forgiveness means
				fulfilling a service obligation through full-time qualifying employment
				consistent with the terms and conditions in the executed contract for a period
				no less than twenty-four (24) months as defined in the contract;
(H) Greatest need in the best interests of
				the public is defined by considering a number of factors related to the access
				to health care, mental health, and public health services and the professional
				shortages associated with the type of services provided, to determine the areas
				of most needed services and areas in Missouri with the greatest need, related
				to increasing access to health care, mental health, or public health services.
				Factors to be considered are subject to availability and may include but are
				not limited to census data, designated HPSAs, workforce analysis and data
				presented to the director prior to selection of eligible health professional
				and practitioner types;
(I) Health
				Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) means a geographic area, population group, or
				facility designated by the United States Department of Health and Human
				Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) with a shortage
				of primary care, dental health, or mental health providers and
				services;
(J) Health Professional
				Shortage Area score is a numerical representation of the shortage level of
				providers providing services in the HPSA, the higher the score the greater the
				need. The score ranges from one (1) to twenty-five (25) for Primary Care and
				Mental Health, and from one (1) to twenty-six (26) for Dental Health;
(K) Health care professional means a licensed
				provider of health care or dental health treatment and services who has
				graduated with an associate degree or higher associated with a health care
				profession. This includes, but is not limited to: advanced practice registered
				nurse, assistant physician, dental hygienist, dentist, physician, physician
				assistant, registered dietitian, registered nurse, physical therapist,
				occupational therapist, or respiratory therapist;
(L) Mental health professional means a
				licensed mental health practitioner or social and human services provider who
				offers services for the purpose of improving an individual>s mental health
				or to treat mental disorders and who has graduated with an associate degree or
				higher associated with a mental health or health care profession. This includes
				but is not limited to applied behavior analyst, licensed clinical social
				worker, licensed professional counselor, psychiatric advanced practice
				registered nurse, psychiatric assistant physician, psychiatric nurse,
				psychiatric physician assistant, psychiatric social worker, psychiatrist, or
				psychologist;
(M) Proof of use of
				funds means documentation provided by the awardee to provide proof that the
				total funding awarded was utilized to pay on the qualifying educational debt
				submitted in the awardee's application;
(N) Public health professional, for the
				purpose of this regulation, means professionals working to analyze, develop,
				and implement programs that protect the health of individuals, families, and
				communities with an associate degree or higher. This includes but is not
				limited to epidemiologist, health educator, public health administrator, public
				health laboratorian, public health program specialist, public health service
				coordinator, public health nurse, public school counselor, public school nurse,
				or social services professional;
(O) Qualifying educational debt means
				government and commercial loans for actual costs paid for tuition and
				educational costs for the applicant to obtain a degree relevant to the
				applicant's qualifying employment; and
(P) Qualifying employment means employment in
				a health care, mental health, or public health field for a minimum of forty
				(40) hours per week in an area of need as defined by the department.