1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; adding mental health professionals and independent clinical 
1.3 	social workers to the health professional education loan forgiveness program; 
1.4 	appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivisions 1, 2, 3.1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 
1.9 	apply.
1.10 	(b) "Dentist" means an individual who is licensed to practice dentistry.
1.11 	(c) "Designated rural area" means a city or township that is:
1.12 	(1) outside the seven-county metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, 
1.13 	subdivision 2; and
1.14 	(2) has a population under 15,000.
1.15 	(d) "Emergency circumstances" means those conditions that make it impossible for 
1.16 	the participant to fulfill the service commitment, including death, total and permanent 
1.17 	disability, or temporary disability lasting more than two years.
1.18 	(e) "Medical resident" means an individual participating in a medical residency in 
1.19 	family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, or psychiatry.
1.20 	(f) "Mental health professional" means an individual providing clinical services in 
1.21 	the treatment of mental illness who is qualified in at least one of the ways specified in 
1.22 	section 245.462, subdivision 18.
1.23 	(f) (g) "Midlevel practitioner" means a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, nurse 
1.24 	anesthetist, advanced clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant.
2.1 	(g) (h) "Nurse" means an individual who has completed training and received 
2.2 	all licensing or certification necessary to perform duties as a licensed practical nurse 
2.3 	or registered nurse.
2.4 	(h) (i) "Nurse-midwife" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a program 
2.5 	of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse-midwives.
2.6 	(i) (j) "Nurse practitioner" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a 
2.7 	program of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse 
2.8 	practitioners.
2.9 	(j) (k) "Pharmacist" means an individual with a valid license issued under chapter 151.
2.10 	(k) (l) "Physician" means an individual who is licensed to practice medicine in 
2.11 	the areas of family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, 
2.12 	or psychiatry.
2.13 	(l) (m) "Physician assistant" means a person an individual who is  licensed under 
2.14 	chapter 147A.
2.15 	(n) "Social worker" means an individual who is licensed as an independent clinical 
2.16 	social worker under chapter 148E.
2.17 	(m) (o) "Qualified educational loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation 
2.18 	loan for actual costs paid for tuition, reasonable education expenses, and reasonable living 
2.19 	expenses related to the graduate or undergraduate education of a health care professional.
2.20 	(n) (p) "Underserved urban community" means a Minnesota urban area or population 
2.21 	included in the list of designated primary medical care health professional shortage areas 
2.22 	(HPSAs), medically underserved areas (MUAs), or medically underserved populations 
2.23 	(MUPs) maintained and updated by the United States Department of Health and Human 
2.24 	Services.

2.25 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
2.26 		Subd. 2.Creation of account. (a) A health professional education loan forgiveness 
2.27 	program account is established. The commissioner of health shall use money from the 
2.28 	account to establish a loan forgiveness program:
2.29 	(1) for medical residents agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or underserved 
2.30 	urban communities or specializing in the area of pediatric psychiatry;
2.31 	(2) for midlevel practitioners agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or to 
2.32 	teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a postsecondary 
2.33 	program at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
2.34 	(3) for nurses who agree to practice in a Minnesota nursing home or intermediate 
2.35 	care facility for persons with developmental disability or to teach at least 12 credit hours, 
3.1 	or 720 hours per year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate 
3.2 	level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
3.3 	(4) for other health care technicians agreeing to teach at least 12 credit hours, or 720 
3.4 	hours per year in their designated field in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate 
3.5 	level or the equivalent at the graduate level. The commissioner, in consultation with 
3.6 	the Healthcare Education-Industry Partnership, shall determine the health care fields 
3.7 	where the need is the greatest, including, but not limited to, respiratory therapy, clinical 
3.8 	laboratory technology, radiologic technology, and surgical technology;
3.9 	(5) for pharmacists who agree to practice in designated rural areas; and
3.10 	(6) for dentists agreeing to deliver at least 25 percent of the dentist's yearly patient 
3.11 	encounters to state public program enrollees or patients receiving sliding fee schedule 
3.12 	discounts through a formal sliding fee schedule meeting the standards established by 
3.13 	the United States Department of Health and Human Services under Code of Federal 
3.14 	Regulations, title 42, section 51, chapter 303;
3.15 	(7) for mental health professionals; and
3.16 	(8) for social workers.
3.17 	(b) Appropriations made to the account do not cancel and are available until 
3.18 	expended, except that at the end of each biennium, any remaining balance in the account 
3.19 	that is not committed by contract and not needed to fulfill existing commitments shall 
3.20 	cancel to the fund.

3.21 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 144.1501, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
3.22 		Subd. 3.Eligibility. (a) To be eligible to participate in the loan forgiveness program, 
3.23 	an individual must:
3.24 	(1) be a medical or dental resident, a licensed pharmacist or be enrolled in a training or 
3.25 	education program to become a dentist, midlevel practitioner, registered nurse, or a licensed 
3.26 	practical nurse training program, mental health professional, or a social worker; and
3.27 	(2) submit an application to the commissioner of health. If fewer applications are 
3.28 	submitted by dental students or residents than there are dentist participant slots available, 
3.29 	the commissioner may consider applications submitted by dental program graduates 
3.30 	who are licensed dentists.
3.31 	(b) An applicant selected to participate must sign a contract to agree to serve a 
3.32 	minimum three-year full-time service obligation according to subdivision 2, which shall 
3.33 	begin no later than March 31 following completion of required training.

3.34 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION. 
4.1 	$....... in fiscal year 2016 and $....... in fiscal year 2017 are appropriated from the 
4.2 	general fund to the commissioner of health for the addition of mental health professionals 
4.3 	and social workers to the health professional education loan forgiveness program under 
4.4 	Minnesota Statutes, section 144.1501.