85R6297 MM-D     By: Miles S.B. No. 1225       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to eligibility requirements for the repayment of certain   physician education loans.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 61.532(a) and (b), Education Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (a)  To be eligible to receive repayment assistance, a   physician must:                (1)  apply to the coordinating board;                (2)  at the time of application, be licensed to   practice medicine under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;                (3)  have completed one, two, three, or four   consecutive years of practice:                      (A)  in a health professional shortage area   designated by the Department of State Health Services; [or]                      (B)  in:                            (i)  a state supported living center, as   defined by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code; or                            (ii)  a state hospital, as defined by   Section 552.0011, Health and Safety Code; or                      (C)  in accordance with Subsection (b), after   funds have been fully allocated for the program year to physicians   qualifying under Paragraph (A) or (B); and                (4)  unless the physician qualifies under Subsection   (a)(3)(B),  provide health care services to:                      (A)  recipients under the medical assistance   program authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code;                      (B)  enrollees under the child health plan program   authorized by Chapter 62, Health and Safety Code; or                      (C)  persons committed to a secure correctional   facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile   Justice Department or persons confined in a secure correctional   facility operated by or under contract with any division of the   Texas Department of Criminal Justice.          (b)  A physician may complete one or more years of practice   required by Subsection (a)(3)(C) [(a)(3)] in a location other than   an area or facility described by Subsection (a)(3)(A) or (B) [a   health professional shortage area designated by the Department of   State Health Services] if, during the applicable year or years, the   physician provides health care services to a designated number of   patients who are recipients under the medical assistance program   authorized by Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, or the Texas   Women's Health Program according to criteria established by the   board in consultation with the Health and Human Services   Commission.  The Health and Human Services Commission shall verify   a physician's compliance with this subsection, and the board and   the commission shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for   that purpose.          SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act to Section   61.532, Education Code, applies only to eligibility for loan   repayment assistance under Subchapter J, Chapter 61, Education   Code, on the basis of an application submitted on or after September   1, 2017. Eligibility on the basis of an application submitted   before September 1, 2017, is covered by the law in effect at the   time the application was submitted, and the former law is continued   in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.