Bills › 89th General Assembly
Relating to the establishment of a mental health professional loan repayment program within the college student aid commission
Sponsored by the House Appropriations (successor To Hsb 537) Committee
Topics:State budgetHealth careHigher educationMental health & addiction
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 28, 2022
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 1, 2022
- Done: House committeeMarch 1, 2022
- Done: Passes the HouseMarch 15, 202294–2
- Done: Senate committeeMarch 17, 2022
- Done: Passes the SenateApril 25, 202244–0
- Done: To the GovernorJune 2, 2022
- Done: Signed into lawJune 13, 2022
Signed into law What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Iowa will create a program to help mental health professionals pay back their student loans. To get the money, workers like psychiatrists and psychologists must agree to work in specific service areas for at least five years. The amount of money each person can receive depends on their specific job title.1
Read the official explanation
This bill establishes a mental health practitioner loan repayment program, and provides an appropriation. The bill requires the Iowa student aid commission to establish a mental health practitioner loan repayment program for the purposes of providing loan repayments for mental health practitioners who agree to practice in service commitment areas for at least five years and meet the requirements of the bill. “Mental health practitioner” means a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a mental health professional, a physician assistant practicing under the supervision of a psychiatrist, or a psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner. The bill includes provisions, similar to those for other loan repayment and loan forgiveness programs for health professionals under Code chapter 261, including the rural Iowa primary care loan repayment program, relating to eligibility, program agreements, program priorities, loan repayment amounts, refinanced loans, program agreement limitations, the selection of the service commitment area, rules for loan repayment, rules for additional loan repayment, part-time practice agreement amendments, postponement and satisfaction of service obligations, the establishment of a trust fund for the program, the submission of annual reports regarding the program, and the adoption of administrative rules for the program. Under the bill, the loan repayment amount for a psychiatrist is $40,000 annually with a maximum of $200,000 for an eligible loan, not to exceed the total loan amount; for a psychologist or a mental health professional is $8,000 annually with a maximum of $40,000 for an eligible loan, not to exceed the total loan amount; and for a physician assistant practicing under the supervision of a psychiatrist or for a psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner is $10,000 annually with a maximum of $50,000 not to exceed the total loan amount. The bill provides definitions for the purposes of the bill and provides for an appropriation from the general fund of the state to the college student aid commission for FY 2022-2023 to be deposited in the mental health practitioner loan repayment program trust fund established under the bill to be used for the purposes of the program.
Changed since by amendments S-5141, S-5140, H-8181; see Amendments.