This bill establishes a mental healthcare professionals student loan repayment grant program to incentivize certain mental healthcare professionals to provide mental healthcare services in this state following completion of their training.
In order to be eligible for a repayment grant under this bill an individual must:
(1) Be a licensed physician with expertise in psychiatry and whose practice is primarily limited to psychiatry, a licensed psychologist designated as a health services provider, or a licensed professional counselor designated as a mental health service provider;
(2) Have an outstanding student loan balance that resulted from medical education;
(3) Apply to the department for a grant; and
(4) Enter into a contract with the department of health stating the individual will provide mental health services in Tennessee for at least five years within the seven years following the date of application approval and use the grant funds only to repay eligible educational loans.
This bill authorizes qualified individuals to apply for a grant while in training to become a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, or professional counselor; however, the individual must not receive a grant until the individual completes all necessary training to be a licensed provider and enters a contract with the department. The full text of this bill specifies the qualifications an individual must possess in order to apply for a repayment grant while still in training.
This bill requires the department of health to do the following:
(1) Administer the repayment grant program and establish an application and contract process;
(2) Issue program monies to pay mental healthcare professionals student loan repayment grants to qualifying individuals for the amount of principal, interest, and related expenses of the individual's medical school educational loans, not to exceed the individual's total student loan indebtedness; and
(3) Provide an annual report to the governor, the chair of the education administration committee of the house of representatives, and the chair of the education committee of the senate, outlining the number of individuals applying for and awarded grants, and any recommendations for program improvements, no later than January 1 of each year.
This bill prohibits retroactive awards of the grants authorized by this bill.
An individual who receives a student loan repayment grant and breaches their contract with the department of health will be liable for liquidated damages in an amount equivalent to the amount that would be owed for default and any other penalties as determined and authorized by the department. This bill authorizes the department to waive the liquidated damages if it determines that death or permanent physical disability accounted for the failure of the participant to fulfill the contract. The department may prescribe additional conditions for default, cancellation, waiver, or suspension.
This bill authorizes the department of health, in consultation with TSAC, the board of medical examiners, the board of osteopathic examination, the board of professional counselors, and the board of examiners in psychology, to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill.
This bill takes effect upon becoming a law for rulemaking purposes and January 1, 2024, for all other purposes.