Extends eligibility for Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program to physical therapists.

S3666

SENATE, No. 3666

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

���� Extends eligibility for Primary Care Practitioner
Loan Redemption Program to physical therapists.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning the Primary Care Practitioner and
Loan Redemption Program and amending various sections of the statutory law.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� N.J.S.18A:71C-32 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71C-32.� "Approved
site" means a site located within a State designated underserved area or a
health professional shortage area, or a clinic which is part of the extramural
network of dental clinics established by the New Jersey Dental School of
Rutgers, The State University, or a site that has been determined by the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority, in consultation with the Department of
Health
[
and
Senior Services
]
,
to serve medically underserved populations according to criteria determined by
the authority, including, but not limited to, the percentage of medically
underserved patients served.

���� "Authority" means
the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

���� "Eligible qualifying loan
expenses" means the cumulative outstanding balance of student loans
covering the cost of attendance at an undergraduate institution of medical,
dental, or other primary care professional education at the time an applicant
is selected for the program. Interest paid or due on qualifying loans that an
applicant has taken out for use in paying the costs of undergraduate medical,
dental, or other primary care professional education shall be considered
eligible for reimbursement under the program. The authority may establish a
limit on the total amount of qualifying loans which may be redeemed for
participants under the program, provided that the total redemption of
qualifying loans does not exceed $120,000, or the maximum amount authorized by
the federal government, whichever is greater, either in State funds or the sum
of federal, State, and other non-federal matching funds, pursuant to section
338I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.s.254q-1), whichever is
applicable.

���� "Executive director"
means the executive director of the Higher Education Student Assistance
Authority.

���� "Health professional
shortage area" (HPSA) means an urban or rural area, a population group or
a public or non-profit private medical or dental facility or other public
facility which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines has a health
professional shortage pursuant to section 332 of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. s.254e).

���� "Primary care" means
the practice of family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics,
general obstetrics, gynecology, pediatric dentistry, general dentistry, public
health dentistry, and any other areas of medicine or dentistry which the
Commissioner of Health
[
and
Senior Services
]

may define as primary care. Primary care also includes the practice of a
nurse-practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, and physician assistant.

���� "Primary care
practitioner" means a State-licensed or certified health care professional
who has obtained a degree in allopathic or osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or
another primary care profession at an undergraduate institution of medical, dental,
or other primary care professional education, as applicable.

���� "Program" means the
Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program established pursuant to
N.J.S.18A:71C-33.

���� "Program
participant" means a
[
primary
care
]

practitioner who contracts with the authority to engage in the clinical
practice of primary care
or physical therapy
at an approved site in
exchange for the redemption of eligible qualifying loan expenses provided under
the program.

���� "Qualifying loan"
means a government or commercial loan for the actual costs paid for tuition and
reasonable education and living expenses relating to the obtaining of a degree
in allopathic or osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or another primary care
profession.

���� "State designated
underserved area" means a geographic area in this State which has been
ranked by the Commissioner of Health
[
and
Senior Services
]

on the basis of health status and economic indicators as reflecting a medical
or dental health professional shortage.

���� "Total and permanent
disability" means a physical or mental disability that is expected to
continue indefinitely or result in death and renders a participant in the
program unable to perform that person's service obligation, as determined by the
executive director or his designee.

���� "Undergraduate medical,
dental, or other primary care professional education" means the period of
time between entry into medical school, dental school, or other primary care
or
medical
professional training program and the award of a degree in
allopathic or osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or another primary care �profession,
respectively.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.45, s.99)

���� 2.��� N.J.S.18A:71C-34 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71C-34.� To be eligible to
participate in the program, an applicant shall:

���� a.���� be a resident of the
State;

���� b.��� be a primary care
practitioner
or physical therapist
; and

���� c.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2009, c.145.)

���� d.��� agree to practice
primary care,
or physical therapy,
as appropriate, at an approved site
under the terms and conditions provided in N.J.S.18A:71C-36 and the agreement
issued thereunder.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.145, s.3)

���� 3.��� N.J.S.18A:71C-35 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71C-35.� The Commissioner
of Health
[
and
Senior Services
]
,
after consultation with the Commissioner of Corrections and the Commissioner of
Human Services, shall designate and establish a ranking of State designated
underserved areas. The criteria used by the Commissioner of Health
[
and Senior
Services
]

in designating areas shall include, but not be limited to:

���� a.���� the financial resources
of the population under consideration, including the percentage of the
population that is eligible for medical assistance pursuant to P.L.1968, c.413
(C.30:4D-1 et seq.) and P.L.2005, c.156 (C.30:4J-8 et seq.), and the percentage
of the population that does not have health insurance coverage;

���� b.��� the population's access
to primary care
and physical therapy
services;

���� c.���� appropriate physician,
dentist,
physical therapist,
or other primary care staffing in State,
county, municipal and private nonprofit health care facilities and in clinics
which are part of the extramural network of dental clinics established by the
New Jersey Dental School of Rutgers, The State University; and

���� d.��� the extent to which
racial and ethnic disparities in health care in a geographic area, including,
but not limited to, disparities in the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular
disease, stroke, chemical dependency, diabetes, asthma, homicide, suicide,
accidental injury, infant mortality, child immunization rates, HIV/AIDS, dental
caries, and periodontal disease, indicate the need to increase access to
[
primary
]

health

care services among racial and ethnic minority populations in that area.

���� The Commissioner of Health
[
and Senior
Services
]

shall transmit the list of State designated underserved areas and the number of
positions needed in each area to the executive director or designee.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.45, s.100)

���� 4.��� N.J.S.18A:71C-36 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71C-36.� a.� In
administering the program, the authority or its designated agent shall contract
only with a primary care practitioner
or physical therapist
.

���� b.��� The contract shall
require a program participant to:

���� (1)�� serve at least an
initial two-year period at an approved site in the full-time clinical practice
of that person's
[
primary
care
]

profession;

���� (2)�� charge for professional
services at the usual and customary rate prevailing in the area in which the
approved site is located, but allow a patient who is unable to pay that charge
to pay at a reduced rate or receive care at no charge;

���� (3)�� not discriminate against
any patient in the provision of health care services on the basis of that
person's ability to pay or source of payment; and

���� (4)�� agree not to impose any
charge in excess of the limiting fee for a service, as determined by the United
States Secretary of Health and Human Services, to a recipient of benefits under
the federal Medicare program established pursuant to Pub.L.89-97 (42 U.S.C.s.1395
et seq.).

���� c.���� The contract shall also
specify the applicant's dates of required service and the total amount of
eligible qualifying loan expenses to be redeemed by the State in return for
service, and stipulate that the applicant has knowledge of and agrees to the
six-month probationary period required prior to final acceptance into the
program pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71C-38.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.145, s.5)

���� 5.��� Section 10 of P.L.2009,
c.145 (C.18A:71C-36.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 10.� a.� A program
participant, as a condition of participation, shall be required to adhere to
performance standards established by the executive director or his designee and
if the approved site is a clinic which is part of the extramural network of
dental clinics established by the New Jersey Dental School of Rutgers, The
State University the program participant shall also meet performance standards
set by the New Jersey Dental School.

���� b.��� The standards shall
include, but not be limited to, requirements that a participant:

���� (1)�� maintain residency in
the State;

���� (2)�� maintain a license or
certification to practice a primary care profession�
or physical therapy

in the State;

���� (3)�� remain current with
payments on student loans;

���� (4)�� enter into a mutually
acceptable contract with an approved site;

���� (5)�� maintain satisfactory
performance of services rendered at an approved site; and

���� (6)�� report to the authority
or its designee, on a form and in a manner prescribed by the authority or its
designee, on the program participant's performance of services rendered at an
approved site prior to repayment of the annual amount eligible for redemption.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.45, s.101)

���� 6.��� N.J.S.18A:71C-38 is
amended to read as follows:�

���� 18A:71C-38.� Each program
participant shall serve a six-month probationary period upon initial placement
at an approved site. During that period, the
[
primary
care
]

supervisory

staff of the �approved site, or in the case of a clinic which is part of the
extramural network of dental clinics established by the New Jersey Dental
School of Rutgers, The State University, the director of the clinics and the
vice-dean of the dental school, together with the program participant and the
executive director or his designee, shall evaluate the suitability of the
placement for the program participant. At the end of the probationary period,
the
[
primary
care
]

supervisory

staff shall recommend the continuation of the program participant's present
placement, a change in placement, or its determination that the program
participant is an unsuitable candidate for the program. If the
[
primary care
]

supervisory

staff of the approved site recommends a change in placement, the executive
director or a designee shall approve an alternate placement at an approved
site. If the
[
primary
care
]

supervisory

staff determines that the program participant is not a suitable candidate for
the program, the executive director or his designee shall take this
recommendation into consideration in regard to the program participant's final
acceptance into the program. No loan redemption payment shall be made during
the six-month probationary period; however, a program participant shall receive
credit for the six-month period in calculating the first year of required
service under the loan redemption contract.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.45, s.102)

���� 7.��� N.J.S.18A:71C-39� is
amended to read as follows:�

���� 18A:71C-39. The executive
director or his designee, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health
[
and Senior
Services
]
,
shall match program participants to State designated underserved areas or
HPSAs.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.145, s.8)

���� 8.��� N.J.S.18A:71C-40 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71C-40.� The executive
director or his designee shall select the program participants from among those
applicants who meet the eligibility criteria established pursuant to
N.J.S.18A:71C-34, subject to available funds and available approved sites.� In
the event that there are insufficient funds or approved sites to select all of
the applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, the executive director or his
designee shall accord priority to applicants in the following manner:

���� a.���� first, to any applicant
who is completing a fourth, third or second year of a loan redemption contract;

���� b.��� second, to any applicant
according to the severity of the
[
physician,
dentist, or other primary care
]

health care
provider shortage in the area selected by the applicant; and

���� c.���� third, to any applicant
whose residence in the State at the time of entry into postsecondary education
was within a State designated underserved area.

���� In the event that there are
more applicants who have the same priority than there are program positions,
the executive director or his designee shall select program participants by
means of a lottery or other form of random selection.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.145, s.9)

���� 9.��� Section 18 of P.L.2009,
c.145 (C.18A:71C-46.1) is amended to read as follows:

���� 18.� The authority shall work
with State institutions of medical, dental, and other
[
primary
]

health

care professional education to ensure that information on the Primary Care
Practitioner Loan Redemption Program is made available to students upon
enrollment.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.145, s.18)

���� 10.� This act shall take
effect immediately.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill broadens eligibility
for the Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program established within
the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) to include physical
therapists.

���� The Primary Care Practitioner
Loan Redemption Program promotes access to primary care services in medically
underserved areas of the State by improving the distribution of primary care
health providers, including physicians, dentists, physician assistants,
certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives, by providing for
the redemption of eligible student loan expenses of providers in exchange for a
specified period of service in medically underserved areas. Subject to
appropriation, the program will provide up to $200,000 in student loan
redemption for two to four years of service as a primary care provider in areas
of medicine defined by the Commissioner of Health or the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services in areas ranked by the Commissioner of Health
reflecting a health professional shortage. This bill extends eligibility
for the Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program to include physical
therapists.