Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 344
       
       
        
       By Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       37-00468-14                                            2014344__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to dentists; creating s. 381.4019,
    3         F.S.; establishing the Dental Student Loan Repayment
    4         Program in order to encourage dentists to work in
    5         underserved areas or public health programs; providing
    6         definitions; requiring the Department of Health,
    7         certain universities, and the Florida Dental
    8         Association to develop the program; providing for the
    9         award of funds; providing the maximum number of years
   10         funds may be awarded to a dentist; providing sanctions
   11         for failure to comply with loan requirements;
   12         requiring the department to adopt rules; providing an
   13         effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Section 381.4019, Florida Statutes, is created
   18  to read:
   19         381.4019 Dental Student Loan Repayment Program.—Subject to
   20  the availability of funds, the Legislature establishes the
   21  Dental Student Loan Repayment Program in order to encourage
   22  qualified dentists to practice in medically underserved areas or
   23  public health programs in the state in which there are shortages
   24  of such practitioners.
   25         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   26         (a) “Department” means the Department of Health.
   27         (b) “Loan program” means the Dental Student Loan Repayment
   28  Program.
   29         (c) “Medically underserved area” means a geographic area,
   30  an area having a special population, or a facility as designated
   31  by department rule which is a health professional shortage area
   32  as defined by federal regulations and which has a shortage of
   33  dental health professionals who serve Medicaid and other low
   34  income patients.
   35         (d) “Public health program” means a county health
   36  department, the Children’s Medical Services program, a federally
   37  funded community health center, a federally funded migrant
   38  health center, or other publicly funded or nonprofit health care
   39  program designated by the department.
   40         (2) The loan program shall be developed by the department
   41  in cooperation with the University of Florida College of
   42  Dentistry, the Nova Southeastern University College of Dental
   43  Medicine, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School
   44  of Dental Medicine, and the Florida Dental Association.
   45         (3) The department shall award funds from the loan program
   46  to repay the student loans of state-licensed dentists who commit
   47  to practice in a medically underserved area or in a public
   48  health program to serve Medicaid recipients and other low-income
   49  patients in this state.
   50         (4) A participant in the loan program may receive funds for
   51  at least 1 year, up to a maximum of 4 years. The period of
   52  obligated service begins when the dentist is employed in the
   53  medically underserved area or by a public health program.
   54         (5) Failure to comply with the participation requirements
   55  of the loan program shall result in ineligibility for license
   56  renewal under chapter 466. If a dentist is unable to participate
   57  for reasons of disability, the penalty is the actual amount of
   58  financial assistance provided to the dentist. Financial
   59  penalties shall be deposited into the loan program and used to
   60  provide additional funding for program participants.
   61         (6) The department shall adopt rules to administer the loan
   62  program. The rules must quantify the amount of funds each
   63  dentist may receive per year of participation in the loan
   64  program.
   65         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.