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Committee advances rural health loan-repayment grant bill with dental amendment
Summary
House Bill 157, creating a Department of Health-administered rural health grant program to repay education debt for eligible practitioners, was reported out of committee after an amendment added dentists and dental hygienists to eligibility.
House Bill 157, which would create a rural health grant program administered by the Department of Health to help eligible rural hospitals, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers and birth centers repay education debt for certain practitioners, was reported affirmatively by the House Health Committee after adoption of an amendment to expand eligible professions.
Committee staff member Mike summarized the bill: "House bill 157 ... will create the health care grant, rural health care grant program to be administered by the Department of Health. This program will distribute grants to eligible hospitals, rural health clinics, FQHCs, and birth centers in rural counties or in designated medically underserved areas. These grants will then be used by these entities to pay the education debt of a physician, licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse and to clarify, that includes nurse practitioners, or midwives or nurse midwives to qualify for these grants. The practitioner must work a minimum of 3 years full time for the entity and the maximum amount that an entity may receive in 1 calendar year is $250,000." Mike also noted that funding for the program would be determined separately by the General Assembly and that the department would have reporting requirements.
Chair Rapp offered Amendment A0009, which "adds dentists and dental hygienists to the list of practitioners that are eligible to receive loan repayment," and the committee adopted it after members said rural oral-health shortages justified inclusion. A committee member referenced a legislative study noting that "only 6% of full time dentists are practicing in rural areas" and cited other workforce gaps and longer travel times for rural residents. Sponsors and supporters framed the program as a targeted workforce tool: eligible entities can apply funding to repay education debt for practitioners who commit to at least three years of full-time service, with a per-entity maximum of $250,000 per calendar year.
The committee reported House Bill 157 affirmatively. The transcript records supporting testimony and statistics about rural provider shortages and the amendment but does not include a roll-call tally for the committee report.
