85R6297 MM-D
 
  By: Miles S.B. No. 1225
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to eligibility requirements for the repayment of certain
  physician education loans.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 61.532(a) and (b), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  To be eligible to receive repayment assistance, a
  physician must:
               (1)  apply to the coordinating board;
               (2)  at the time of application, be licensed to
  practice medicine under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
               (3)  have completed one, two, three, or four
  consecutive years of practice:
                     (A)  in a health professional shortage area
  designated by the Department of State Health Services; [or]
                     (B)  in:
                           (i)  a state supported living center, as
  defined by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code; or
                           (ii)  a state hospital, as defined by
  Section 552.0011, Health and Safety Code; or
                     (C)  in accordance with Subsection (b), after
  funds have been fully allocated for the program year to physicians
  qualifying under Paragraph (A) or (B); and
               (4)  unless the physician qualifies under Subsection
  (a)(3)(B),  provide health care services to:
                     (A)  recipients under the medical assistance
  program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code;
                     (B)  enrollees under the child health plan program
  authorized by Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; or
                     (C)  persons committed to a secure correctional
  facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile
  Justice Department or persons confined in a secure correctional
  facility operated by or under contract with any division of the
  Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
         (b)  A physician may complete one or more years of practice
  required by Subsection (a)(3)(C) [(a)(3)] in a location other than
  an area or facility described by Subsection (a)(3)(A) or (B) [a
  health professional shortage area designated by the Department of
  State Health Services] if, during the applicable year or years, the
  physician provides health care services to a designated number of
  patients who are recipients under the medical assistance program
  authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, or the Texas
  Women's Health Program according to criteria established by the
  board in consultation with the Health and Human Services
  Commission.  The Health and Human Services Commission shall verify
  a physician's compliance with this subsection, and the board and
  the commission shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
  61.532, Education Code, applies only to eligibility for loan
  repayment assistance under Subchapter J, Chapter 61, Education
  Code, on the basis of an application submitted on or after September
  1, 2017. Eligibility on the basis of an application submitted
  before September 1, 2017, is covered by the law in effect at the
  time the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
  in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.