HEALTH PROVIDER REPAYMENT; MODIFY S.B. 246 & 435:
REVISED ANALYSIS AS ENACTED
Senate Bill 246 (as enacted) PUBLIC ACT 37 of 2022
Senate Bill 435 (as enacted) PUBLIC ACT 38 of 2022
Sponsor: Senator Curtis S. VanderWall (S.B. 246)
Senator Michael D. MacDonald (S.B. 435)
Senate Committee: Health Policy and Human Services
House Committee: Health Policy
RATIONALE
The Michigan State Loan Repayment Program (MSLRP), also known as the Michigan Essential Health Provider Program, assists in the recruitment and retention of primary medical, dental, and mental healthcare providers in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). The Program provides loan repayment to practitioners who enter full-time service obligations with a not-for-profit health clinic for a certain number of years as determined by the practitioner's contract. The maximum amount of loan repayment MLSRP can offer is $40,000 annually, and $200,000 in total, if paid over four years or more, and as determined by the contract between the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the practitioner.
According to a recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the median medical student debt was roughly $200,000 in 2019, which is the maximum amount of money that the DHHS can offer in an MLSRP contract. Some people believe that growing student debt has increased interest in the MSLRP, making it a more successful recruiting program for HPSAs. Accordingly, it was suggested that the MLSRP offer more debt repayment for prolonged services from contracted practitioners in HPSAs.
CONTENT
Senate Bill 246 amends the Public Health Code to specify that the maximum amount of debt or expense that the DHHS may pay on behalf of a designated health professional through a health provider repayment program is $300,000 over ten or more years, and to specify that the repayment program also applies to a designate health professional who incurs debt or expenses as a result of a loan taken to attend a mental health professional program.
Senate Bill 435 amended the Code to do the following:
-- Expand the list of designated physician specialty areas that qualify under the essential health provider repayment program and grant program for minority students administered by the DHHS, and to modify and prescribe various definitions.
-- Delay to March 28, 2025, the sunset date for the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
Senate Bill 435 took effect on March 23, 2022. Senate Bill 246 takes effect on the 91st day after the Legislature adjourns sine die.
Senate Bill 246
Under the Code, the DHHS must administer an essential health provider repayment program for designated professionals who have incurred a debt or expenses as a result of a loan taken to attend medical school, dental school, nursing program for the training of certified nurse midwives, certified nurse practitioners, or clinical nurse specialists-certified, or physician's assistant program or as a result of providing services in a health resource shortage area. Under the bill, the essential health provider repayment program also applies to designated professional who has incurred a debt or expenses as a result of a loan taken to attend a mental health professional program.
The Code requires the Department to repay a debt or expenses only for a professional who has entered a written contract with the DHHS that requires him or her to engage in the full-time practice of health care s