Bill Text: NY S01318 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Enhances enforcement of primary care physician loan and scholarship programs by authorizing the commissioner of health to initiate proceedings to suspend the license of a loan repayment award or scholarship recipient who has failed to provide the required primary care service in an underserved area; also authorizes the commissioner to report the amount of such award or scholarship to the department of taxation and finance as income of the recipient.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S01318 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S01318-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1318
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
       AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to enhanced  enforce-
         ment of the primary care physician loan and scholarship programs
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 903 of the public health  law,  as
    2  amended  by  chapter  639  of  the  laws  of 1996, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    4. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regulation provide, a
    5  recipient of an award shall have practiced as a primary  care  physician
    6  in  an  underserved  area  in the state of New York or, in the case of a
    7  recipient of an award after completion of residency training, the recip-
    8  ient shall have practiced in an underserved  area  for  that  number  of
    9  months  calculated  by multiplying by twelve the number of annual awards
   10  received by the recipient. If a recipient fails  to  comply  fully  with
   11  such conditions[,]:
   12    (A)  the president shall be entitled to receive from such recipient an
   13  amount to be determined by the formula:
   14                                      A = 2B(t-s)
   15                                            -----
   16                                               t
   17  In which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover, "B"  is
   18  the  sum  of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such
   19  amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
   20  were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t"  is  the
   21  total  number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services;
   22  and "s" is the number of months of services  actually  rendered  by  the
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD04278-01-3
       S. 1318                             2
    1  recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
    2  this subdivision SHALL BECOME DUE AND shall be paid  [within  the  five-
    3  year period beginning on the date] IN FULL UPON A DETERMINATION that the
    4  recipient failed to comply with this condition. Any obligation to comply
    5  with  such provisions shall be canceled upon the death of the recipient.
    6  The commissioner [of health] shall promulgate regulations to provide for
    7  the waiver or suspension of any  financial  obligation  when  compliance
    8  would involve extreme hardship;
    9    (B)  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL INITIATE PROCEEDINGS FOR THE SUSPENSION OF
   10  THE RECIPIENT'S LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK;
   11    (C) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL FILE A  REPORT  WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE
   12  DEPARTMENT  OF  TAXATION  AND  FINANCE  INDICATING THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF A
   13  RECIPIENT'S UNEARNED LOAN REPAYMENT AWARD SO  THAT  SUCH  AWARD  MAY  BE
   14  CONSIDERED INCOME FOR THE PURPOSE OF ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO OF THE TAX LAW.
   15    S  2.  Section 903 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
   16  subdivision 4-a to read as follows:
   17    4-A. (A) A RECIPIENT OF A LOAN REPAYMENT AWARD SHALL  REPORT  ANNUALLY
   18  TO  THE  NEW  YORK STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SERVICES CORPORATION, ON FORMS
   19  PRESCRIBED BY THE PRESIDENT, AS  TO  THE  PERFORMANCE  OF  THE  REQUIRED
   20  SERVICES,  COMMENCING  WITH  THE  CALENDAR  YEAR  IN WHICH THE RECIPIENT
   21  BEGINS TO PROVIDE PRIMARY CARE  SERVICES  IN  AN  UNDERSERVED  AREA  AND
   22  CONTINUING  UNTIL  THE  RECIPIENT  SHALL  HAVE COMPLETED, OR UNTIL IT IS
   23  DETERMINED THAT HE OR SHE  SHALL  NOT  BE  OBLIGATED  TO  COMPLETE,  THE
   24  REQUIRED  SERVICES.  IF  THE  RECIPIENT  SHALL  FAIL  TO FILE ANY REPORT
   25  REQUIRED HEREUNDER WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF WRITTEN NOTICE TO  THE  RECIPI-
   26  ENT, MAILED TO THE ADDRESS SHOWN ON THE LAST APPLICATION FOR AN AWARD OR
   27  LAST  REPORT FILED, WHICHEVER IS LATER, THE PRESIDENT OF THE CORPORATION
   28  MAY IMPOSE A FINE OF UP TO FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.  THE  PRESIDENT  SHALL
   29  HAVE  THE  DISCRETION TO WAIVE THE FILING OF A REPORT, EXCUSE A DELAY IN
   30  FILING OR A FAILURE TO FILE A  REPORT,  OR  WAIVE  OR  REDUCE  ANY  FINE
   31  IMPOSED FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN.
   32    (B)  IN  ADDITION TO THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH
   33  (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, A RECIPIENT OF AN AWARD  SHALL  SUBMIT  TO  THE
   34  DEPARTMENT  AT EACH BIENNIAL REGISTRATION PERIOD PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION
   35  EIGHT OF SECTION SIXTY-FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THE EDUCATION LAW,  A
   36  REPORT AS TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE REQUIRED SERVICES.
   37    S  3. Subdivisions 6 and 7 of section 904 of the public health law, as
   38  amended by chapter 255 of the laws of  1994,  are  amended  to  read  as
   39  follows:
   40    6. If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions[,]:
   41    (A)  the president shall be entitled to receive from such recipient an
   42  amount to be determined by the formula:
   43                                 A = 2B(t-s)
   44                                    -----
   45                                      t
   46  in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover, "B"  is
   47  the  sum  of  all  awards made to the recipient and the interest on such
   48  amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
   49  were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t"  is  the
   50  total  number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services;
   51  and "s" is the number of months of  service  actually  rendered  by  the
   52  recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
   53  this [paragraph] SUBDIVISION SHALL BECOME DUE AND shall be paid  [within
   54  the five-year period beginning on the date] IN FULL UPON A DETERMINATION
   55  that the recipient failed to comply with this service condition. Nothing
       S. 1318                             3
    1  in  the  written  agreement  shall affect the terms of employment of the
    2  individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from the program, his
    3  or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,  institution
    4  or  a  program  in  which he or she shall be employed. Any obligation to
    5  comply with such  provisions  as  outlined  in  this  section  shall  be
    6  canceled upon the death of the recipient. The commissioner shall promul-
    7  gate  regulations  to provide for the waiver or suspension of any finan-
    8  cial obligation when compliance would involve extreme hardship;
    9    (B) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL INITIATE PROCEEDINGS FOR THE SUSPENSION  OF
   10  THE RECIPIENT'S LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK;
   11    (C)  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  FILE  A  REPORT WITH THE NEW YORK STATE
   12  DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE INDICATING  THE  TOTAL  AMOUNT  OF  A
   13  RECIPIENT'S  UNEARNED  LOAN  REPAYMENT  AWARD  SO THAT SUCH AWARD MAY BE
   14  CONSIDERED INCOME FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO OF THE TAX LAW.
   15    7. (A) A recipient of an award shall report annually to the  New  York
   16  state  higher education services corporation, on forms prescribed by the
   17  president, as to the performance of the  required  services,  commencing
   18  with  the calendar year in which the recipient begins to provide primary
   19  care services in an underserved area and continuing until the  recipient
   20  shall have completed, or until it is determined that he or she shall not
   21  be  obligated to complete, the required services. If the recipient shall
   22  fail to file any report required hereunder within thirty days of written
   23  notice to the recipient, mailed to the address shown on the last  appli-
   24  cation for an award or last report filed, whichever is later, the presi-
   25  dent  of  the corporation may impose a fine of up to [one] FIVE thousand
   26  dollars. The president shall have the discretion to waive the filing  of
   27  a  report,  excuse  a  delay in filing or a failure to file a report, or
   28  waive or reduce any fine imposed for good cause shown.
   29    (B) IN ADDITION TO THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH  IN  PARAGRAPH
   30  (A)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  A RECIPIENT OF AN AWARD SHALL SUBMIT TO THE
   31  DEPARTMENT AT EACH BIENNIAL REGISTRATION PERIOD PROVIDED IN  SUBDIVISION
   32  EIGHT  OF SECTION SIXTY-FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THE EDUCATION LAW, A
   33  REPORT AS TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE REQUIRED SERVICES.
   34    S 4. Section 904 of the public health law is amended by adding  a  new
   35  subdivision 9 to read as follows:
   36    9.  THE  COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE COUNCIL, SHALL PROMUL-
   37  GATE REGULATIONS NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE THE PROVISIONS AND PURPOSES  OF
   38  THIS SECTION.
   39    S 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
   40  it shall have become a law, except that any rule or regulation necessary
   41  for  the  timely  implementation  of this act shall be promulgated on or
   42  before such date.
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