(a) To be eligible to receive a Resident Loan Repayment Program award, an individual must:

1. (1) be a resident in good standing in the second or third year of residency training in a program that is designated as a Primary Care Residency Program by the council and which was so designated prior to July 1st of the year in which the individual began such residency training;
2. (2) have begun his/her Primary Care Residency Program as a first or second year student after January 1, 1994;
3. (3) be eligible to apply for licensure upon satisfactory completion of his/her residency training, and meet the character and moral standards required for licensure as a physician;
4. (4) agree to seek licensure in New York State at least four months prior to the anticipated completion of his/her Primary Care Residency Program;
5. (5) agree to practice primary care in an underserved area for one year for each annual award received;
6. (6) agree to apply award monies toward repaying all or part of a recipient's qualifying debt; and
7. (7) complete, sign, and file an application with the Department of Health on forms specified by the department at least six months prior to the beginning of the residency year for which an award is requested or by a later date specified by the commissioner. All required supplementary documentation shall be filed as directed. Incomplete or illegible applications may be rejected.

(b) An individual will be ineligible to become a resident loan repayment recipient if:

1. (1) the individual has received a scholarship or loan for his/her medical education which includes a service obligation that may require service outside of New York State;
2. (2) the individual is identified by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation as being in default on the repayment of a guaranteed student loan or as being in default under the terms of any other governmentally administered scholarship or financial aid program and the individual refuses to allow the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation to directly apply the award to the defaulted account(s); or
3. (3) the individual is in a residency program with a program default rate higher than five percent. However, the commissioner may waive this provision if less than 30 recipients have completed their training in the program.

(c) To maintain eligibility for an award, the resident loan repayment recipient must:

1. (1) be a participant in good standing in the Primary Care Residency Program;
2. (2) report to the Department of Health and the Higher Education Services Corporation annually and as may be necessary to implement the program on such forms and at such times as required by the commissioner and the president; and
3. (3) provide required documentation regarding qualifying debt.