6 CCR 1015-7
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR DENTAL PROFESSIONALS 6 CCR 1015-7 [Editor’s Notes follow the text of the rules at the end of this CCR Document.] _________________________________________________________________________ Adopted by the Board of Health on March 16, 2016.
1.1 Definitions
(1) “Board” means the State Board of Health.
(2) “Dental hygienist provider level I” means a licensed dental hygienist who provides services to at least twenty (20) underserved individuals per month on average.
(3) “Dental hygienist provider level II” means a licensed dental hygienist who provides services to at least ten (10) underserved individuals per month on average.
(4) “Dentist provider level I” means:
(A) A licensed dentist who provides services to at least forty (40) underserved individuals per month on average; or (B) A licensed dentist who devotes at least thirty percent (30%) of full time dental practice hours to providing services to underserved individuals.
(5) “Dentist provider level II” means:
(A) A licensed dentist who provides services to at least twenty-five (25) underserved individuals per month on average; or (B) A licensed dentist who devotes at least twenty percent (20%) of full time dental practice hours to providing services to underserved individuals.
(6) “Dentist provider level III” means a licensed dentist in a part time dental practice who provides services to at least ten (10) underserved individuals per month on average.
(7) “Department” means the Department of Public Health and Environment.
(8) “Eligible dental professional” means a person who is:
(A) A dental hygienist licensed in Colorado pursuant to Article 35 of Title 12, C.R.S.; or (B) A dentist licensed in Colorado pursuant to Article 35 of Title 12, C.R.S.
(9) “Full time dental practice” means a practice that is routinely open at least thirty-two (32) clinical hours per week.
(10) “Loan repayment award” means an award of funds, payable to the lender or lenders who hold professional educational loan debt of the program participant, which pays all or part of the principal, interest, and other related expenses of a loan for professional education in either dentistry or dental hygiene, as applicable.
(11) “Loan repayment contract” means the agreement, which is signed by the program participant and the Department, wherein the program participant agrees to practice in accordance with the requirements in §25-23-101, C.R.S., et seq and these rules in exchange for a loan repayment award.
(12) “Master settlement agreement” means the Master Settlement Agreement, the smokeless tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, and the consent decree approved and entered by the court in the case denominated STATE OF COLORADO, EX REL. GALE A. NORTON, ATTORNEY GENERAL V. R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO.; AMERICAN TOBACCO CO., INC.; BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOBACCO CORP.; LIGGETT AND MEYERS INC.; LORILLARD TOBACCO CO., INC.; PHILLIP MORRIS, INC.; UNITED STATES TOBACCO CO.; B.A.T. INDUSTRIES, P.L.C.; THE COUNCIL FOR TOBACCO RESEARCH-USA., INC.; AND TOBACCO INSTITUTE, INC., Case No. 97 CV 3432, in the District Court for the City and County of Denver.
(13) “Part-time dental practice” means a practice that is routinely open fewer than thirty-two (32) clinical hours per week.
(14) “Program” means the loan repayment program for dental professionals created in §25-23-103, C.R.S.
(15) “Program Participant” means an eligible dental professional who has entered in to a loan repayment contract under the terms of program participation.
(16) “Underserved” means any individual who is:
(A) Eligible for medical assistance under Article 4 of Title 26, C.R.S.; or (B) Enrolled in the Children's Basic Health Plan pursuant to Article 19 of Title 26, C.R.S.; or (C) Eligible for medical services pursuant to the program for the medically indigent set forth in Article 15 of Title 26, C.R.S.; or (D) Receiving dental services in exchange for a reduced fee assessed on a sliding scale that is based upon the individual’s income; or (E) Receiving dental services without charge based upon the individual’s income or dental insurance status.
(17) “Significant level of service” means care provided to underserved individuals at the levels that qualify the eligible dental professional for one or more of the following:
(A) Dental hygienist provider level I; or (B) Dental hygienist provider level II; or (C) Dentist provider level I; or (D) Dentist provider level II; or (E) Dentist provider level III.
1.2 Eligibility criteria
(1) A dental professional is eligible for a loan repayment award if at least one of the following criteria is met:
(A) The dental professional is employed by a federally qualified health center as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 1396(d)(l)(2)(B); or (B) The dental professional owns or is employed by a practice that provides a significant level of service to underserved individuals as defined in § 1.1(16); or (C) The dental professional owns or is employed by a practice that is open to new clients enrolled in the Medicaid Program and the Children's Basic Health Plan Program and can achieve a significant level of service to underserved individuals as defined in § 1.1(16).
1.3 Loan repayment prioritization
(1) In the event that there are insufficient funds in the state dental loan repayment fund to satisfy the loan repayment award requests of eligible dental professionals in a given state fiscal year, the Department will prioritize awards in the following order:
(A) Current program participants who have satisfactorily performed under the terms of their loan repayment contract for at least 13 months and request a contract amendment to extend their service for an additional year under the same terms; then (B) Dentist Level I; then (C) Hygienist Level I; then (D) Dentist Level II; then (E) Hygienist Level II; then (F) Dentist Level III (2) The Department may further refine the allocation of the awards to program participants based on other criteria including but not limited to, geographic distribution of program participants or the availability of other public resources to incentivize increased dental care to underserved individuals.
1.4 Loan repayment
(1) Except as provided in § 1.4 (2), for each year a program participant provides care to underserved individuals in accordance with the terms of a loan repayment contract, the loan repayment award shall not exceed:
(A) $6,000 for a Dental hygienist provider level I;
(B) $3,000 for a Dental hygienist provider level II;
(C) $25,000 for a Dentist provider level I;
(D) $20,000 for a Dentist provider level II;
(E) $10,000 for a Dentist provider level III.
(2) In the event that the total funds available for loan repayment awards in the current state fiscal year exceeds the amount needed to fund program participants at award amounts specified in §1.4 (1), the Department may increase the amount of loan repayment awards to program participants for that fiscal year.
(3) The loan repayment award amount shall not exceed the total balance due on all educational loans held by the program participant.
1.5 Application requirements
(1) An eligible dental professional, desiring to participate in the program, shall complete and submit an application to the Department in accordance with the application deadlines set by the Department. A complete application shall include all of the following:
(A) A current copy of the eligible dental professional’s license to practice in Colorado;
(B) Evidence of having met one or more of the eligibility requirements as described in §1.2 (1);
(C) Evidence of having met, and the ability to maintain, a significant level of service as described in §1.1 (16);
(D) A current statement from the lending institution that holds the educational loan debt of the eligible dental professional and reports the total outstanding loan balance of the applicant and the account status as “current”;
(E) A statement that discloses all other current obligations of the eligible dental professional to perform dental services in exchange for educational debt payments, tax considerations, bonus agreements, or advances on salary;
(F) A statement from the lender, or a signed statement from the eligible dental professional attesting that the loan was used to finance the applicant’s education in dentistry or dental hygiene.
(2) A successful applicant to the program shall sign a loan repayment contract with the Department. The terms of the loan repayment contract shall be determined by the Department and shall include, but may not be limited to:
(A) The total annual amount of loan repayment awarded to the program participant;
(B) A requirement that the program participant agrees to provide significant levels of service to underserved individuals for a minimum of two (2) years, as required by the program participant’s specific provider level, described in §§1.1 (2) through (6);
(C) A requirement that the program participant agrees to promptly notify the Department in writing if the program participant:
(D) Penalties and other enforcement remedies available to the Department in the event the program participant breaches the terms of the loan repayment contract.
(E) A requirement that the program participant agrees to submit semi-annual reports to the Department evidencing the number of underserved individuals served and other related practice information.
1.6 Application deadlines
The Department will solicit applications at least once per fiscal year on a date or dates determined by the program, subject to available funds. A completed application and required attachments must be received by the Department on or before announced application deadlines to be considered for participation in the program.
_________________________________________________________________________ Editor’s Notes History Entire rule eff. 05/15/2016.