Establishing the mental health professional loan repayment program within the college student aid commission

This bill establishes the mental health professional loan repayment program within the college student aid commission. The bill defines “commission”, “eligible institution”, “eligible loan”, “eligible practice area”, “mental health professional”, and “part-time practice”. The bill provides that the commission is to administer the mental health professional loan repayment program for purposes of providing loan repayments for mental health professionals who agree to practice in an eligible practice area. The bill requires a mental health professional and the commission to enter into a program agreement. The bill provides that, in order for the mental health professional to receive loan repayments, the mental health professional shall agree to engage in either full-time practice in an eligible practice area for a period of five consecutive years or part-time practice in an eligible practice area for a period of seven consecutive years. The bill authorizes the mental health professional and the commission to amend the agreement to allow a mental health professional to switch to full-time practice or part-time practice. The bill requires the commission to give priority to mental health professionals who are residents of Iowa and to mental health professionals who are members of the Iowa national guard. The bill provides that a mental health professional’s obligation to engage in full-time or part-time practice under a program agreement shall be considered satisfied when the terms of the agreement are completed; the individual who entered into the agreement dies; or the individual who entered into the agreement, due to a permanent disability, is unable to practice as a mental health professional. The bill also provides that if a mental health professional fails to fulfill the obligation to engage in practice, the mental health professional shall be subject to repayment to the commission of loan repayment amounts the commission paid to the mental health professional plus interest. The bill limits the annual amount of loan repayment a mental health professional may receive to $8,000 for an eligible loan. The bill provides that the total loan repayments from the commission to a mental health professional shall not exceed $40,000. The bill provides that a mental health professional who receives a loan repayment and who refinances an eligible loan by obtaining a private educational loan may continue to receive loan repayment in certain specified circumstances. The bill creates the mental health professional loan repayment fund to support loan repayments under the mental health professional loan repayment program.33, moneys deposited in the fund shall not revert to any fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the fund shall be credited to the fund. The bill requires the commission to submit a report to the general assembly by January 1, annually, describing the number of mental health professionals who received loan repayment, where the mental health professionals practiced, the amount paid to each mental health professional, and other information identified by the commission as indicators of outcomes of the program. The bill requires the commission to adopt rules to administer the mental health professional loan repayment program.