HB5109 EngrossedLRB100 19021 RLC 34275 b

1    AN ACT concerning health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment
6Program Act.
 
7    Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of the Community Behavioral
8Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program is to recruit
9and retain qualified mental health and substance use
10professionals to practice in underserved or rural areas and to
11address this State's community-based behavioral health care
12workforce shortage that causes disparities in access to
13critical mental health and substance use services.
 
14    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
15    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
16Commission.
17    "Physician" means a person licensed by this State to
18practice medicine in all its branches and includes any person
19holding a temporary license, as provided in the Medical
20Practice Act of 1987.
21    "Program" means the Community Behavioral Health Care
22Professional Loan Repayment Program.

 

 

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1    "Psychiatrist" or "licensed psychiatrist" means a
2physician who has successfully completed a residency program in
3psychiatry accredited by either the Accreditation Council for
4Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic
5Association.
 
6    Section 15. Establishment of Program. Beginning on July 1,
72019, there is created the Community Behavioral Health Care
8Professional Loan Repayment Program, which shall be
9administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
10The Program shall provide loan repayment assistance, subject to
11appropriation, to eligible mental health and substance use
12professionals practicing in a community mental health center in
13an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health
14Professional Shortage Area.
 
15    Section 20. Applications. Each year, the Commission shall
16receive and consider applications for loan repayment
17assistance under this Act. All applications must be submitted
18to the Commission in a form and manner prescribed by the
19Commission. Applicants must submit any supporting documents
20deemed necessary by the Commission at the time of application.
 
21    Section 25. Award; maximum loan time; maximum amount.
22Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award a grant to
23each qualified applicant for a maximum of 4 years. The

 

 

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1Commission must encourage the recipient of a grant awarded
2under this Act to use the grant award for payments towards the
3recipient's educational loans. The amount of the grant shall
4not exceed (i) $35,000 per year for a psychiatrist, (ii)
5$15,000 per year for an advanced practice registered nurse or a
6physician assistant, (iii) $12,000 per year for a psychologist
7who holds a doctoral degree, (iv) $6,500 per year for a
8licensed clinical social worker or a licensed clinical
9professional counselor, and (v) $2,500 per year for a substance
10use professional.
 
11    Section 30. Eligibility; work requirement.
12    (a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community
13Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program,
14the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies all of
15the following:
16        (1) He or she is a United States citizen or an eligible
17    noncitizen.
18        (2) He or she is a resident of this State.
19        (3) He or she has worked for at least 12 consecutive
20    months as a behavioral health professional in a community
21    mental health center in an underserved or rural federally
22    designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in
23    this State.
24        (4) He or she is a borrower with an outstanding balance
25    due on an educational loan.

 

 

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1        (5) He or she has not defaulted on an educational loan.
2    (b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous
3recipient of a grant under the Program, provided that the
4recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under
5this Section.
6    (c) A recipient of a grant under the Program must complete
7a separate 12-month period working in a community mental health
8center in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental
9Health Professional Shortage Area in this State for each grant
10that he or she is awarded.
 
11    Section 35. Administration; rules. The Commission shall
12administer the Program and shall adopt rules not inconsistent
13with this Act for the Program's effective implementation.