New Jersey Assembly Passes Reforms to Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program

The New Jersey Assembly passed legislation to make changes to the state’s Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program. The program provides student loan reimbursement to medical providers who agree to work at an eligible site located within a New Jersey Medically Underserved Index identified by the Commissioner of New Jersey Department of Health or within a federally designated health professional shortage area.

Major changes under the bill, include:

• Increasing the maximum loan redemption amount from $120,000 to $200,000;
• Expanding the definition of “state designated underserved area” to include municipalities where more than 50% of households are at or below 185% of the federal poverty line and municipalities with a medically underserved area or population designation reflecting health status and economic indicators as determined by the Health Resources and Services Administration;
• Permitting a program participant to identify an approved site for designation and approval under the program; and
• Establishing criteria for a site to be automatically designated as an approved site under the program.

The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.