Grants for dental students, and loan assistance for dentists, who agree to practice in dental health shortage areas, or to provide services to Medical Assistance recipients, in this state, granting rule-making authority, and making appropriations

Specifically, the bill requires HEAB to make grants to resident students who are enrolled full time in a program of study in this state leading to a doctor of dental surgery (D.D.S.) degree and who enter into an agreement with HEAB under which the student agrees to practice dentistry in a dental health shortage area for the same number of years as the student received a grant or to provide dental services to not less than 50 resident MA recipients in the first year of the agreement and to not less than an additional 50 resident MA recipients in each of the next three years of the agreement. Under the bill, the maximum amount of a grant that a student may receive during a fiscal year is $30,000 or an amount equal to the cost of tuition, fees, and expenses charged to attend the school of dentistry in which the student is enrolled for an academic year, whichever is less, and the maximum total amount of grants that a student may receive is $120,000 or an amount equal to that cost for four academic years, whichever is less.

The bill also requires HEAB to provide loan assistance to dentists who enter into an agreement with HEAB under which the dentist agrees to practice dentistry in a dental health shortage area for five years or to provide dental services to not less than 50 resident MA recipients in the first year of the agreement and to not less than an additional 50 resident MA recipients in each of the next four years of the agreement. The bill, however, permits either HEAB or the dentist, at the end of two years, to elect to terminate the agreement or to continue the agreement for the remaining three years of the agreement. Under the bill, the maximum amount of loan assistance that a dentist may receive during a fiscal year is $20,000 and the maximum total amount of loan assistance that a dentist may receive is $100,000.

In addition, the bill permits HEAB to repay the educational loans of a dentist under an expanded dentist loan assistance program that is funded through federal funds in addition to state matching funds. To be eligible for loan assistance under the expanded dentist loan assistance program, a dentist must be a U.S. citizen, may not have a judgment lien against his or her property for a debt to the United States, and must agree to practice dentistry at a public or private nonprofit entity in a dental health shortage area for five years, to accept Medicare assignment as payment in full for services or articles provided, and to use a sliding fee scale or a comparable method of determining payment arrangements for patients who are not eligible for Medicare or MA and who are unable to pay the customary fee for the dentist's services.

Finally, under the bill, if a grant or loan assistance recipient breaches his or her agreement, the recipient must: 1) repay the entire amount of grant or loan assistance provided, plus interest at a rate of 5 percent per year; and 2) pay a penalty of $5,000 for each year in which the recipient is in breach of his or her obligations under the agreement.