Rep. Lou Lang

Filed: 3/29/2018

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5109

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5109 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1Commission.
2    "Physician" means a person licensed by this State to
3practice medicine in all its branches and includes any person
4holding a temporary license, as provided in the Medical
5Practice Act of 1987.
6    "Program" means the Community Behavioral Health Care
7Professional Loan Repayment Program.
8    "Psychiatrist" or "licensed psychiatrist" means a
9physician who has successfully completed a residency program in
10psychiatry accredited by either the Accreditation Council for
11Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic
12Association.
 
13    Section 15. Establishment of Program. Beginning on July 1,
142019, there is created the Community Behavioral Health Care
15Professional Loan Repayment Program, which shall be
16administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
17The Program shall provide loan repayment assistance, subject to
18appropriation, to eligible mental health and substance use
19professionals practicing in a community mental health center in
20an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health
21Professional Shortage Area.
 
22    Section 20. Applications. Each year, the Commission shall
23receive and consider applications for loan repayment
24assistance under this Act. All applications must be submitted

 

 

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1to the Commission in a form and manner prescribed by the
2Commission. Applicants must submit any supporting documents
3deemed necessary by the Commission at the time of application.
 
4    Section 25. Award; maximum loan time; maximum amount.
5Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award a grant to
6each qualified applicant for a maximum of 4 years. The
7Commission must encourage the recipient of a grant awarded
8under this Act to use the grant award for payments towards the
9recipient's educational loans. The amount of the grant shall
10not exceed (i) $35,000 per year for a psychiatrist, (ii)
11$15,000 per year for an advanced practice registered nurse or a
12physician assistant, (iii) $12,000 per year for a psychologist
13who holds a doctoral degree, (iv) $6,500 per year for a
14licensed clinical social worker or a licensed clinical
15professional counselor, and (v) $2,500 per year for a substance
16use professional.
 
17    Section 30. Eligibility; work requirement.
18    (a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community
19Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program,
20the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies all of
21the following:
22        (1) He or she is a United States citizen or an eligible
23    noncitizen.
24        (2) He or she is a resident of this State.

 

 

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1        (3) He or she has worked for at least 12 consecutive
2    months as a behavioral health professional in a community
3    mental health center in an underserved or rural federally
4    designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in
5    this State.
6        (4) He or she is a borrower with an outstanding balance
7    due on an educational loan.
8        (5) He or she has not defaulted on an educational loan.
9    (b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous
10recipient of a grant under the Program, provided that the
11recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under
12this Section.
13    (c) A recipient of a grant under the Program must complete
14a separate 12-month period working in a community mental health
15center in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental
16Health Professional Shortage Area in this State for each grant
17that he or she is awarded.
 
18    Section 35. Administration; rules. The Commission shall
19administer the Program and shall adopt rules not inconsistent
20with this Act for the Program's effective implementation.".