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Office Of Health Data And Program Management > State Loan Repayment Program(Summary)

State Loan Repayment Program(Summary)

The following is a summary of the State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) and the process that has been developed to implement this Program in Maine. This program is funded 50% by the National Health Service Corps and 50% from Maine’s taxpayer dollars.

General

On October 1, 1988, in cooperation with the federal government, Maine implemented a State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). The purpose of the SLRP is to encourage health care providers to practice in federally designated health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) and facilities, many of which are in rural areas of Maine. Some sites are community health centers, others are Indian health centers and others are private practices which also are located in HPSAs. All sites must be not-for-profit entities and loan repayments are targeted for recruitment only and at this time are not used for retention due to the limited funds in the Program.

On occasion sites are ranked in order of greatest need. The most needy HPSAs are identified through objective criteria adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Health Personnel Planning Committee (HPPC), the advisory committee for the SLRP. More often, however, all sites are considered eligible and are filled on a first-come, first-funded basis. The HPPC recommends the number of SLRP sites to be eligible for the current year to the Commissioner of Health and Human Services for final approval. Once the sites have been approved by the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, they are notified of their eligibility for participation in the SLRP program. The individual health care provider negotiates a contract with the HPSA representatives and that contract is forwarded to program staff. The provider then enters into a contract with the DHHS for participation in the SLRP. The SLRP contracts are for two years with additional years possible subject to adequate funding and continued area designation. The SLRP contract is between the DHHS and the individual health care provider and is a separate contract from any HPSA site employment contract.

 

Planned Sequence of Activity

  • HPSA sites are surveyed each fall to determine the vacancy status of each site for the current SLRP year.
  • The SLRP staff, utilizing the objective criteria, ranks the potential SLRP sites from greatest need to least need OR the first-come, first-served method will be used.
  • The Health Personnel Planning Committee recommends to the Commissioner of Health and Human Services the specific sites for use of the SLRP funds for the current year.
  • During the current fiscal year, the SLRP staff notifies all sites of their status and provides technical assistance to those SLRP sites and interested health care providers.

Elements of the SLRP Contract

  1. The SLRP will pay directly to the provider for any documented, valid and outstanding undergraduate and/or graduate loans, that have been incurred in obtaining the specific health professional degree, at the rate of $25,000.00 per year of service for a physician, $25,000.00 for a dentist and $12,500.00 per year of service for a certified nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, dental hygienist or licensed clinical social worker. The loan repayment monies must be used immediately to reduce outstanding loan balances.
  2. In order for the health care provider to qualify for the SLRP he/she must present to the SLRP a signed contract or private practice agreement in a not-for-profit site for services in the designated SLRP HPSA.
  3. The SLRP contract is for two years with an additional third and fourth year extension possible pending adequate funding and continued designation. Note: A physician or dentist may receive a maximum of four (4) years of SLRP support. A certified nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, dental hygienist, or licensed clinical social worker may receive a maximum of two (2) years of SLRP support.
  4. To be eligible for SLRP funding, the health care provider must be in full-time clinical practice which is defined as a minimum 40-hour week that must be performed in no less than 4 days per week.
  5. The health care provider must provide medical services to all patients regardless of their ability to pay. In addition the SLRP provider must offer a sliding fee schedule, accept MaineCare, accept Medicare assignment and provide free care when medically necessary.

 

For additional information and application materials, please contact:

Charles E. Dwyer, Director

Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
#11 State House Station
286 Water Street, 6th Floor
Augusta, ME 04333-0011

Telephone (207) 287-5524

 

 

 

Slrpsumm: Updated 3/06