TITLE 5 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
CHAPTER 7 TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID
PART 3 NEW
MEXICO HEALTH PROFESSIONAL LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (HPLRP)
5.7.3.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: State of New Mexico Higher Education Department
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.1 NMAC - Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.1, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.2 SCOPE:
Provisions for 5.7.3 NMAC apply to certain practicing health
professionals in New Mexico.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.2 NMAC - Rn, 5 NMAC 7.3.2, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY: Sections 21-1-26 and 21-22D NMSA 1978.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.3 NMAC - Rn, 5 NMAC 7.3.3, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.4 NMAC - Rn, 5 NMAC 7.3.4, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.5 EFFECTIVE
DATE: July 15, 1998, unless a later date is cited
at the end of a section.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.5 NMAC, Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.5, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.6 OBJECTIVE:
The objective and purpose of 5.7.3 NMAC is to increase the number of
health professionals in underserved areas of the state through a program of
loan repayment of eligible educational loans.
The program will pay its participants for the principal and reasonable
interest accrued on loans obtained for educational purposes. The program requires, as a condition of each
eligible participant, that they practice their profession within one of the
areas of the state designated by the health profession advisory committee as a
health professional shortage area for a minimum period of three years.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.6 NMAC - Rn, 5 NMAC 7.3.6, 7/31/2005; A, 8/15/2023]
A. "Commission", without further specification, means the New Mexico higher education
department.
B. "Committee"
means the health professions advisory committee of the department.
C. "Department" means the New Mexico
higher education department.
D. "Eligible
educational loan" means government and commercial loans for actual
costs paid for tuition, reasonable education expenses including fees, books,
supplies and materials; and reasonable living expenses including room and board
and other itemized expenses incurred during an individual's enrollment at a
post-secondary institution in a health occupation educational program. Expenses incurred must be related to the
acquiring of said education.
E. "Eligible
participant" includes physicians, physician assistants, advanced
practice nurses, registered nurses, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, allied
health care providers and other specialties approved by the committee.
F. "Extenuating
circumstances" means circumstances not within the control of the
recipient.
G. "Health
professional shortage area" means an area of the state or a facility
which has been determined by the health professions advisory committee as an
acceptable practice site in which program participants may fulfill their
commitment.
H. "Physician"
means a physician, allopathic or osteopathic with a specialty in family or
general medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics and obstetrics
and gynecology and other specialties approved by the committee.
[7/15/1998; 5.7.3.7 NMAC - Rn
& A, 5 NMAC 7.3.7, 7/31/2005; A, 5/16/2023; A, 8/15/2023]
5.7.3.8 HEALTH
PROFESSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE: The health profession
advisory committee is created to advise the department on matters relating to the
administration of the Health Professions Student Loan-for-Service Acts and the
Health Professional Loan Repayment Act.
A. The committee
shall be appointed by the department pursuant to policies and procedures of the commission and
shall be composed of:
(1) a
representative of the department of health;
(2) a
representative of the New Mexico health policy commission;
(3) representatives
of public post-secondary health and medical training programs;
(4) representatives
of recruiting and placement organizations;
(5) representatives
of professional health and medical associations; and
(6) other
representatives as appointed by the department.
B. The
responsibilities of the committee shall include:
(1) designate
health professional shortage areas of the state;
(2) make
recommendations to the department on applicants for Medical, Osteopathic,
Nursing and Allied Health Loan-For-Service Acts and the Health Professional
Loan Repayment Act; and
(3) give
advice or other assistance to the department as requested.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.8 NMAC - Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.8, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.9 PARTICIPANT
ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible for this program, an applicant
must:
A. submit an
application containing biographical, educational and health profession education
loan information including lender name, address, telephone number, loan
numbers, loan balances, interest rates and remaining payments for review;
B. be licensed or certified
in the state of New Mexico to practice their profession;
C. be a citizen of
the United States or a permanent resident alien and a resident of New Mexico;
D. provide service
in a clinical practice of their profession full time (36 hours per week), the
committee may consider part-time service, with prorated awards, on a
case-by-case basis;
E. practice in an
approved health professional shortage area for a minimum period of three years,
the committee may consider longer periods of service on a case-by-case basis;
F. charge for their
professional services at the usual and customary rates prevailing in the areas
in which such services are provided, except that if a person is unable to pay
such a charge, such person shall be charged at a reduced rate or not charged
any fee;
G. agree that, in
providing health services, they will not, in the case of an individual seeking
care, discriminate on the basis of the ability of the individual to pay for
such care or on the basis that payment for such care will be made pursuant to
the program established in Title XVIII (medicare) of
the Social Security Act or pursuant to the program established in Title XIX (medicaid) of such act; and
H. agree that they will
accept assignment under Section 1842(b)(3)(B)(ii) of the Social Security act
for all services for which payment may be made under Part B of Title XVIII and
will enter into an appropriate agreement with the state agency that administers
the state plan for medical assistance under Title XIX of such act to provide
service to individuals entitled to medical assistance under the plan.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.9 NMAC - Rn, 5 NMAC 7.3.9, 7/31/2005; A, 5/16/2023; A, 8/15/2023]
5.7.3.10 SELECTION
OF LOAN REPAYMENT PARTICIPANTS:
A. Upon receipt of
application forms and supporting documentation from eligible participants, a
committee will be convened by the commission staff person charged with the
administration of this program to make award recommendations. Applicants will be notified within 30 days of
the results of this review.
B. Preference in
awarding funds will be to individuals that have graduated from a New Mexico
post-secondary institution.
C. Recruitment
awards will be made to eligible participants who agree to relocate to an
approved practice site.
D. Retention awards
will be made to eligible participants who agree to remain in an approved
practice.
E. Award amounts
will be dependent upon the location of the practice, the applicant's total
health professional educational indebtedness, and certain characteristics of
the practice; the committee may modify the amount of the awards based upon
available funding or other special circumstances.
(1) No
award amount may exceed the total medical educational indebtedness of any
participant.
(2) Highest
priority will be given to those participants in practices which are hard to
fill (vacancies in excess of 12 months), practices which require after-hours
call at least every other night, and those which have heavy obstetrical
responsibilities.
F. Payments will be
made on a quarterly basis upon receipt of a certified quarter (three months) of
service which verifies that the participant is satisfactorily providing primary
health care services in an approved area.
G. Payments will
not be made until participants are actually providing services in their
approved practice sites, and no payments will be made prior to the date of
application and execution of a participation agreement.
H. Participants
with consolidated loans will be asked to detail the consolidation in writing at
the time of application, segregating those loan amounts which qualify under
this program for repayment.
I. The program
will not pay fines, penalties or other financial damages accessed as a result
of delinquent payments on eligible loans, other loans or as a result of other
legal action taken against participants.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.10 NMAC - Rn, 5 NMAC 7.3.10, 7/31/2005; A, 12/11/2018]
5.7.3.11 PARTICIPATION
AGREEMENT: Upon approval, a participation agreement
shall be drawn between each eligible participant receiving loan repayment and
the department on behalf of the state of New Mexico. The agreement shall state both the
participant's obligation under the program as well as the department’s responsibility. No
payment will be made until a duly signed document is on file at the department offices. The
participation agreement shall include, but not be limited to, the following
stipulations:
A. provide for the
repayment of a specified sum as determined in Section 10; the commission will
pay the amount due for each quarter of completed service by the program
participant, directly to the participant or their lender(s) for payment of
their health professional education loans; any amounts allocated to repay loans
will be divided equally by the number of quarters in the service period covered
by the award; quarters comprise an average of thirteen weeks including paid
leave or any combination of hours and weeks thereof for the entire service
period;
B. state that the department will
complete annual reports to all tax authorities delineating award payments made
to the program participant;
C. state that
payment of the award is conditioned upon the program participant submitting
timely reports and requests for reimbursement to the department or its
designee, as required by the commission;
D. state the
participant's obligations including a minimum three year period of service in a
practice providing continuous clinical services in the field of their profession
in an area designated by the committee as eligible;
E. state that the
program participant is responsible for payment(s) of their eligible health
professional education loans until such time that actual loan repayment is
performed by the department. Repayment by the department will begin following the first certified quarter of
completed clinical service in an area designated by the committee;
F. state that the
recipient will charge for professional services at the usual and customary rate
prevailing in the area where the services are provided, except that if a person
is unable to pay such charge, such person shall be charged at a reduced rate or
not charged any fee;
G. in providing
health services, the participant shall not discriminate against any person on
the basis of such person's ability to pay for such services or because payment
for the health services provided to such person will be made under the
insurance program established under Part A or B of Title XVIII of the Social
Security Act or under a state plan for medical assistance approved under Title
XIX of such act;
H. the participant
will accept assignment under Sections 1842(b)(3)(B)(ii) of the Social Security
Act for all services for which payment may be under Part B of Title XVIII of
such act and enter into an appropriate agreement with the state agency which
administers the state plan for medical assistance under Title XIX of such act
to provide services to individuals entitled to medical assistance under the
plan;
I. the award will
be terminated if any of the following should occur:
(1) the
participant fails to perform continuous clinical service at the approved
facility, unless a change of facility or an interruption in service is approved
in advance and in writing by the department; no interruption in service exceeding six months will be
approved;
(2) the
employment of the participant at an approved location is terminated;
(3) the
participant loses their professional license, board certification or billing
privileges for medicaid or medicare;
or
(4) the
department deems termination is warranted for any other reasonable
cause.
J. in the event this
agreement is terminated by the commission, the commission shall have no
obligation to make any further payments to or on behalf of the participant;
K. penalties as
outlined in Section 12; and
L. shall state that
the participant further promises:
(1) to
use the allocated award solely for the purposes of repaying health professional
education loans, including principal, interest and related expenses or, where
approved by the commission;
(2) to
be responsible for all tax liabilities incurred in the acceptance of the award;
and
(3) to
complete all necessary reports and requests for loan repayment required by
commission and submit them to the commission or its designee on a timely basis.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.11 NMAC - Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.11, 7/31/2005; A, 12/11/2018; A,
8/15/2023]
5.7.3.12 PENALTIES:
A. If a program
participant does not comply with the terms of the participation agreement, the department shall
assess a penalty of up to three times the amount of award disbursed, plus
eighteen percent interest, unless the commission finds acceptable extenuating
circumstances for why the participant could not serve and comply with the terms
of the provisions. If the commission
does not find acceptable extenuating circumstances for the participant's failure
to comply, the commission shall require immediate repayment plus the amount of
any penalty assessed pursuant to this section.
(1) The
full penalty shall apply unless the circumstances reflect that the penalty
should be reduced on a prorata basis reasonably
reached based upon the degree of control which the recipient has over the
decision not to serve. The recipient shall have the burden of proof.
(2) If
the commission does not find acceptable extenuating circumstances for the
recipient's failure to carry out their declared intent to serve in a designated
shortage area in the state, the commission shall require immediate repayment of
the award granted to the recipient plus the amount of any penalty assessed
pursuant to this subsection.
B. Participants who
have signed a participation agreement for three years and fail to complete a
quarter of service will not receive a prorated award amount.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.12 NMAC - Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.12, 7/31/2005; A, 8/15/2023]
5.7.3.13 INELIGIBLE
DEBTS: The following educational debts are not
eligible for repayment under this program:
A. amounts incurred
as a result of participation in any department administered loan-for-service
program or other state programs whose purpose states that service be provided
in exchange for financial assistance, such as the New Mexico health service
corps;
B. scholarships
which have a service component/obligation such as the national health service
corps scholarship; and
C. personal loans
from friends, relatives and other family members, loans which exceed individual
standard school expense levels; the committee may consider cases of extenuating
circumstances.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.13 NMAC - Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.13, 7/31/2005]
5.7.3.14 REPORTS:
The department shall submit a report to the governor and the legislature
prior to each regular legislative session. The report shall describe the
program activity during the previous years, including the statistics, and
analysis of the progress of the Health Professional Loan Repayment Act in
meeting the health and medical needs of the citizens of the state.
[7/15/1998;
5.7.3.14 NMAC - Rn & A, 5 NMAC 7.3.14, 7/31/2005]
HISTORY OF 5.7.3 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History:
The material in
this part was derived from that previously filed with the State Records Center
and Archives under:
CHE
Rule 805, New Mexico Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP),
12/21/1994.
History of Repealed
Material: [RESERVED]