256.223  Health care professional recruitment program.
  1.  A health care professional recruitment program is established to be administered by the college student aid commission for students who graduate from an academic program at an eligible institution that leads to licensure as a health care professional. The program shall consist of a loan repayment program for health care professionals. The commission shall regularly adjust the service requirement under each aspect of the program to provide, to the extent possible, an equal financial benefit for each period of service required.
  2.  A health care professional shall be eligible for the loan repayment program if the health care professional agrees to practice in an eligible rural community in this state. Eligible institutions offering academic programs that lead to licensure as a health care professional shall recruit and place health care professionals in rural communities which have agreed to provide additional funds for the recipient’s loan repayment. The contract for the loan repayment shall stipulate the time period the recipient shall practice in an eligible rural community in this state. In addition, the contract shall stipulate that the recipient repay any funds paid on the recipient’s loan by the commission if the recipient fails to practice in an eligible rural community in this state for the required period of time.
  3.  A loan repayment recipient who refinances an eligible loan by obtaining a private educational loan may continue to receive loan repayment under this section.
  4.  A health care professional recruitment fund is created in the state treasury as a separate fund under the control of the commission for deposit of moneys appropriated to or received by the commission for use under the program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, any balance in the fund on June 30 of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the state but shall remain in the fund and be continuously available for loan repayment under the program. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
  5.  For purposes of this section:
  a.  “Eligible institution” means an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents, a community college established under chapter 260C, or an accredited private institution as defined in section 256.183.
  b.  “Eligible rural community” means a medically underserved rural community which agrees to match state funds provided on at least a dollar-for-dollar basis for the loan repayment of a health care professional who practices in the community.
  c.  “Health care professional” means an advanced registered nurse practitioner, athletic trainer, occupational therapist, physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, registered nurse, or physical therapist who is licensed, accredited, registered, or certified to perform specified health care services consistent with state law.
  6.  The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section.
[C77, 79, 81, §261.19]
87 Acts, ch 115, §38; 89 Acts, ch 319, §46; 90 Acts, ch 1253, §122; 90 Acts, ch 1272, §51; 97 Acts, ch 134, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1058, §30; 2000 Acts, ch 1095, §12; 2000 Acts, ch 1223, §27; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §91; 2009 Acts, ch 177, §26; 2011 Acts, ch 132, §12, 106; 2012 Acts, ch 1132, §10; 2014 Acts, ch 1026, §71; 2014 Acts, ch 1061, §16
C2015, §261.115
2020 Acts, ch 1007, §4, 5, 7, 8; 2021 Acts, ch 117, §1 – 3; 2022 Acts, ch 1134, §15; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §2641
C2024, §256.223