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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.”

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