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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Kernan
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
01/27/06
02/02/06 HB
SHORT TITLE Health Professional Loan Program Award Amount SB 284
ANALYST Williams
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$1,280.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates House Bill 259
Relates to Appropriations in the General Appropriation Act for Student Financial Aid program at
Higher Education Department
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Health (DOH)
Health Policy Commission (HPC)
Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Endorsed by the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee.
Senate Bill 284 appropriates $1.28 million from the general fund to the Higher Education De-
partment to expand the health professional loan repayment program to “encourage greater par-
ticipation in the program and increase the number of health professionals serving in rural areas of
the state.”
pg_0002
Senate Bill 284 – Page
2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $1.28 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall
revert to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Health Professional Loan Repayment Act was established in 1995 and is to increase the
number of health professionals in underserved areas of the state through an educational loan re-
payment program. The program provides for repayment of principal and reasonable interest on
loans obtained for health education purposes.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
HED notes “this request was not in the list of priority projects submitted to the NMHED and it
was not included in the recommendations for FY07.”
Students must declare an intent to practice as a health professional in areas designed as “under-
served.” Award criteria includes:
Amounts depend on location of the practice, applicant total health professional education
indebtedness and characteristics of the practice;
Preference for individuals graduating from a New Mexico public, post-secondary educa-
tional institution;
Highest priority given to participants in practices in which health profession vacancies
are difficult to fill, practices that require after-hour calls at least every other night and
practices that have heavy obstetrical duties.
Award amounts are capped by the total qualifying education indebtedness of each student.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1.
What performance outcomes are available for this program.
AW/mt