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A2222
ASSEMBLY, No. 2222
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman LUANNE M. PETERPAUL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Drulis, Park, Haider, Morales and Assemblyman
Sauickie
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Reproductive Health Care Professionals
Loan Redemption Program; appropriates $5 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
establishing a loan redemption program for
reproductive health care professionals, supplementing chapter 71C of Title 18A
of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� The Legislature finds
and declares:
���� a.� The cost of becoming a
physician has increased exponentially, with some health care professionals
accruing more than $200,000 in student loans.
���� b.� One-third of New Jersey�s
counties, home to more than a quarter of all New Jersey women, do not have an
abortion provider.
���� c.� Geographic proximity to
reproductive health care services is imperative and a lack of nearby providers
remains a key barrier to timely, quality care.
���� d.� Since the Supreme Court�s
decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women�s Health Organization, 21 states and
counting have banned or severely restricted abortion access, leading New Jersey
to become a vital resource for people seeking abortions.
���� e.� Abortion providers have
experienced an increase in out-of-State patients, many of whom come to New
Jersey because abortion is illegal in their home state.
���� f.� Establishing a loan
redemption program for reproductive health care professionals will reduce the
costs associated with becoming a health care professional and increase the
number of providers available in the State who care for the increasing number
of patients requiring reproductive health care services.
���� 2.��� As used in this act:
���� �Abortion� means any medical
treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy and services
rendered to facilitate the termination which may include follow up care, except
for the purpose of producing a live birth. Abortion includes, but is not
limited to, aspiration abortion and medication abortion.
���� �Approved site� means a site
providing reproductive health care services, which shall be approved by the
authority in consultation with the Department of Health. Approved sites may
include, but are not limited to, sites operated by a nonprofit organization,
hospitals, clinics, physicians� offices, and other facilities providing
reproductive health care services. An approved site shall include sites
providing abortions.
���� �Aspiration abortion� means a
procedure that terminates a pregnancy utilizing manual or electric suction to
empty the uterus.
���� �Authority� means the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority.
���� �Eligible reproductive health
care professional� means
a person who: is licensed,
certified, or otherwise authorized to provide health care services pursuant to
Title 45 of the Revised Statutes and is providing reproductive health care
services in the State.
���� �Executive director� means the
executive director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
���� �Program� means the
Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program established
pursuant to this act.
���� �Program participant� means an
eligible reproductive health care professional who contracts with the authority
to engage in the clinical practice of reproductive health care services at an
approved site in exchange for the redemption of qualifying student loan
amounts.
���� �Qualifying student loan
amounts� means
the cumulative outstanding balance of
State, federal, or commercial student loans at the time an applicant is
selected for the program, which an applicant has borrowed to pay for the cost
of attendance for undergraduate or graduate education at an institution of
higher education. Interest paid or due on qualifying student loan amounts shall
be considered eligible for reimbursement under the program.
���� �Reproductive health care
services� means and includes medical, surgical, counseling, or referral
services relating to the human reproductive system including, but not limited
to, services relating to pregnancy, contraception, or abortion.
���� �Total and permanent
disability� means a physical or mental disability that is expected to continue
indefinitely or result in death and renders a program participant unable to
perform the program participant�s contractual obligation, as determined by the
executive director or the executive director�s designee.
���� 3.��� There is established a
Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program within the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority. The program shall provide for the
redemption of a portion of the qualifying student loan amounts of a program participant
for each period of service at an approved site.
���� 4.��� a.� To be eligible to
participate in the program, an applicant shall:
���� (1) be a resident of the
State;
���� (2) be employed as an eligible
reproductive health care professional at an approved site; and
���� (3) submit an application in a
manner determined by the executive director.
���� b.� The executive director, or
the executive director�s designee, shall select the program participants from
among those applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, subject to available
funds. The executive director shall give preference to applicants employed as
an eligible reproductive health care professional in a county facing a shortage
of reproductive health care professionals.
���� c.� The program participant
shall enter into a written contract with the authority to participate in the
program. The contract shall specify the duration of the program participant�s
required service and the total amount of qualifying student loan amounts to be
redeemed by the State in return for service.
���� d.� The redemption of loans
under the program shall amount to 18 percent of the program participant�s
qualifying student loan amounts in return for one full year of service at an approved
site, an additional 26 percent for a second full year of service, an additional
28 percent for a third full year of service, and an additional 28 percent for a
fourth full year of service. Total redemption of qualifying student loan
amounts under the program shall not exceed $200,000.
���� e.� The period of service
shall commence on or after the date of enactment of this act.
���� f.� No amount of qualifying student
loan amounts shall be redeemed for services performed for less than a full
year.
���� 5.��� a.� A program
participant who has entered into a redemption contract with the authority may
nullify that contract by submitting written notification to the authority and
assuming full responsibility for repayment of the full amount of the program
participant�s student loan amounts.
���� b.� In the case of a program
participant�s death or total and permanent disability, the authority shall
nullify the service obligation of the program participant.
���� c.� The authority may nullify
or suspend a program participant�s service obligation if continued enforcement
of the contract may result in extreme hardship.
���� 6.��� A reproductive health
care professional who is participating in the federally administered National
Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, section 338B of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. s.254 l-1), or any other loan redemption program
administered by the authority shall not be eligible to participate
simultaneously in the program.
���� 7.��� The authority shall
adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to implement the provisions of
this act.
���� 8.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority the
sum of $5,000,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act.
���� 9.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the
Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program in the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA). The loan redemption program is
to provide for the redemption of a portion of a program participant�s
State, federal, or commercial student loans in exchange for
the program participant�s service at
a site providing reproductive
health care services, as approved by the authority. Under the bill, the sites
may include sites operated by a nonprofit organizations, hospitals, clinics,
physicians� offices, and other facilities providing reproductive health care
services. An approved site under the bill includes sites providing abortion
care.
���� To be eligible to participate
in the program, an applicant is required to: (1) be a resident of the State;
(2) be employed as an eligible reproductive health care professional, defined
as
a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise
authorized to provide health care services and who is providing reproductive
health care services in the State; and (3) submit an application in a manner
determined by the executive director of the HESAA.
���� In
selecting program participants, the executive director is required to give
preference to applicants employed as an eligible reproductive health care
professional in a county facing a shortage of reproductive health care
professionals. The bill stipulates that a selected program participant is to
enter into a written contract with the authority. The contract is to specify
the duration of the program participant�s required service and the total amount
of student loans to be redeemed in return for the service.
���� Under
the bill, loan redemption is to amount to 18 percent of a program participant�s
qualifying loan amounts in return for one full year of service at an approved
site, an additional
26 percent for a second full year of service, an
additional 28 percent for a third full year of service, and an additional 28
percent for a fourth full year of service. The total loan redemption for a
program participant is not to exceed $200,000.
���� Finally, the bill stipulates
that a reproductive health care professional, who is participating in the
National Health Services Corps Loan Repayment Program or any other loan
redemption program administered by the authority, is not eligible to simultaneously
participate in the Reproductive Health Care Professional Loan Redemption
Program.