283—24.3 (261) Eligibility requirements.
	   24.3(1) An eligible university will recommend up to ten applicants to the commission for loan repayment benefits. Priority will be given to students who are Iowa residents upon enrolling in the eligible university. The criteria used by the state board of regents to determine residency for tuition purposes, Iowa Administrative Code rule 681—1.4(262), are adopted for this program. Fifty percent of the agreements shall be entered into by students attending each eligible university.
	      a.    	 The commission will annually determine and communicate the number of recommendations that can be funded at each eligible university.
	      b.    	 If fewer than one-half of the total recommendations in 24.3(1)“a” are fulfilled by students at one eligible university, the commission may obtain additional recommendations from the other eligible university to award the remaining agreements.
	   24.3(2) An applicant must enter into an agreement with the commission when the applicant begins curriculum leading to a doctor of medicine or osteopathy degree.
	   24.3(3) An applicant must remain enrolled on a full-time basis in each term of enrollment and graduate with a doctor of medicine or osteopathy degree from an eligible university. The commission may waive the full-time enrollment requirement for a temporary time frame only in the instance of a leave of absence approved by an eligible university. The applicant must request a waiver from the commission in writing.
	   24.3(4) An applicant must apply for, enter, and complete a residency program in Iowa.
	   24.3(5) Within nine months of graduating from the residency program, an applicant must receive a permanent license to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in the state of Iowa and engage in full-time practice, as defined by the service commitment area, of medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery specializing in family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, internal medicine, or general surgery for a period of 60 consecutive months in a service commitment area.
	   24.3(6) An applicant must annually complete and return to the commission an affidavit of full-time enrollment at an eligible university and, when applicable, an annual affidavit of acceptance into and completion of residency programs and acceptance of and completion of employment obligations in a service commitment area.
	   24.3(7) Prior to or upon engagement in full-time employment in a service commitment area, the physician must contract with a service commitment area to provide a nonrefundable $20,000 contribution for deposit in the rural Iowa primary care trust fund. Payment must be received by the commission from a service commitment area prior to payment of any loan repayment awards.
	   24.3(8) Failure by the applicant to meet all eligibility requirements under this rule and in the agreement will result in forfeiture of all remaining unpaid payments.
[ARC 1320C, IAB 2/19/14, effective 3/26/14]