§1205.6. Loan forgiveness for primary care physicians, pediatricians, surgeons, obstetricians, and gynecologists

            A. The department shall establish a loan forgiveness program for primary care physicians, which shall include those practicing family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, and general surgery, hereinafter collectively referred to as "primary care physicians", who are practicing in a rural health professional shortage area, hereinafter referred to as an "HPSA", and who serve on the active medical staff of a rural hospital in accordance with such hospital's medical staff bylaws, rules, and regulations. "Rural hospital" is defined as provided for in R.S. 40:1189.3. The establishment of this loan forgiveness program shall be subject to an act of the legislature appropriating monies sufficient to establish and implement the program.

            B. The department shall coordinate the administration of the program.

            C. The department may provide assistance for the repayment of a student loan for education at an institution of higher learning received by a primary care physician, practicing in a rural HPSA and on the active medical staff of a rural hospital in accordance with such hospital's medical staff bylaws, rules, and regulations. Repayment shall be made by the department to the lending institution on behalf of the loan recipient.

            D. Consideration for loan repayment assistance shall be as follows:

            (1) The applicant must be an individual who has one of the following:

            (a) A medical degree from an accredited medical school.

            (b) Completed an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited training program in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, or general surgery and is board eligible in one of such areas.

            (c) A license to practice medicine in the state.

            (2) An applicant who is qualified under Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall agree to practice in a rural hospital as a primary care physician, for not less than five years according to a schedule developed by the department.

            E. A physician who is eligible pursuant to Subsection D of this Section shall be eligible to receive an amount of loan forgiveness of up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars, as established by the department, based on the total amount of the physician's debt and the available funding for this program. No less than ten percent of such debt amount shall be forgiven each year, subject to funds available for loan exonerations in that fiscal year.

            F. A recipient of loan repayment assistance shall enter into a contract with the department, which shall be considered a contract with the state. The contract shall include but not be limited to the following terms and conditions:

            (1) An unlicensed applicant shall apply for a license to practice medicine at the earliest practicable opportunity.

            (2) Within six months after licensure and the completion of all ACGME requirements for the medical specialty, an applicant shall engage in the practice of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, and general surgery in a rural HPSA and obtain and maintain, during the term of the loan repayment agreement with the department, active medical staff privileges at a rural hospital in accordance with such hospital's medical staff bylaws, rules, and regulations. The department shall provide applicants with a list of available rural hospital sites and shall, to the extent possible, approve applicant selections in the order they are received.

            (3) The applicant shall agree, for a period of not less than five full years, to practice, on a full-time basis, not less than thirty-six hours per week, at an office, leased or owned by the applicant, a physician or physicians's group practice, or at an entity licensed by the department located in a rural HPSA while maintaining active medical staff privileges at a rural hospital, in accordance with such hospital's medical staff bylaws, rules, and regulations.

            (4) The applicant shall agree to treat patients who are eligible for Medicaid and Medicare.

            (5) The applicant shall permit the department to monitor his practice to determine compliance with the terms of the contract.

            (6) The department shall certify compliance with the terms of the contract for purposes of receipt by the physician of loan repayment awards for years subsequent to the initial year of the loan.

            (7) The contract shall be renewable on an annual basis upon certification by the department that the physician has complied with the terms of the contract.

            (8) Upon the recipient's death or total or permanent disability, the department shall nullify the service obligation of the recipient.

            (9) If the recipient is convicted of or pleads guilty or no contest to a felony or misdemeanor or if the appropriate licensing board has determined that the recipient has committed an act of gross negligence in the performance of service obligations or has suspended or revoked the license to practice, the department shall have the authority to terminate the recipient's service in the program and demand repayment of the assistance rendered to date.

            (10) Loan recipients who fail to begin or complete the obligations contracted for shall pay to the department three times the amount of assistance received. Falsification or misrepresentation on an application or in verification of service shall be construed to be a default. Determination as to the time of breach of contract shall be made by the department. Both the recipient and the department shall make every effort to resolve conflicts in order to prevent a breach of contract.

            G. The department shall have the authority to seek garnishment of wages for the collection of damages provided for in Paragraph (10) of Subsection F of this Section.

            Acts 2008, No. 605, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 40:1300.6 by HCR 84 of 2015 R.S.