Section 582.10  Definitions

 

"Accredited school" means a college or university in which a degree in allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry or an equivalent credential for a health program is earned and for which the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (www.chea.org) or its affiliates has determined that the school meets specific standards for its programs, faculty and curriculum.  A person who earns a degree from an unaccredited school is unable to participate in the State Loan Repayment Program.

 

"Administrative duties" means charting, research, attending meetings and other non-treatment activities pertaining to the health care professional's practice.

 

"Administrative law judge" shall have the meaning ascribed in the Department's Practice and Procedure in Administrative Hearings.

 

"Advanced practice registered nurse" or "APRN" means a person who has met the qualifications for a certified nurse midwife (CNM); certified nurse practitioner (CNP); certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA); or clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and has been licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. (Section 50-10 of the Nurse Practice Act)

 

"Allopathic medicine" means the use of pharmacological agents or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or processes of diseases or conditions.

 

"Applicant" means a health care professional or medical facility that applies for loan repayment assistance funds.

 

"Approved graduate training" means training in medicine, dentistry or other health professions that leads to eligibility for board certification, provides evidence of completion, is approved by the appropriate health care professional's body, and is in a specialty needed by the National Health Service Corps.

 

"Authorized representative" means a person who has authority to act on behalf of the applicant or grantee, including but not limited to the applicant's or grantee's attorney at law.  Authorized representatives are:  for a corporation, any of its officers or members of its board of directors; for a limited liability company, any of its managers or members; for a partnership, any of its general partners; and for a sole proprietor, the individual who is the sole proprietor.

 

"Board certified physician" means a physician who has passed a medical specialty examination and who has maintained certification of that specialty from a nationally recognized medical specialty board certification body.

 

"Board eligible physician" means a physician who has completed the requirements for admission to a medical specialty board examination but has not yet taken and passed the examination or a physician who had board certification but did not maintain that certification and must take a medical specialty board examination again.

 

"Breach of service obligation" means failure for any reason to begin or complete a contractual service commitment.

 

"Calendar day" means all days in a month or prescribed time frame.  It includes weekends and federal or State government declared holidays.

 

"Center" means the Center for Rural Health of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

 

"Certificate of Naturalization" means a document to prove that the person named in the certificate has obtained U.S. citizenship through naturalization.

 

"Certified local health department" means a county, multi-county, municipal or district public health agency recognized by the Department under the Certified Local Health Department Code.

 

"Certified Mail" means U.S. Mail for which proof of delivery is obtained.

 

"Children's Health Insurance Program" or "CHIP" means health coverage that is provided to eligible children, through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

 

"Commercial loans" means loans made by banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, insurance companies, schools and other financial institutions.

 

"Committee" means the Advisory Committee for Residence Programs created by this Act. (Section 3.03 of the Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Act)

 

"Community health center" or "CHC" means a migrant health center, community health center, health care program for the homeless or for residents of public housing supported under Section 330 of the federal Public Health Service Act, or FQHC, including FQHC Look-Alikes, as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that operate at least one federally designated primary health care delivery site in Illinois.

 

"Default" means failure to meet the legal obligations or conditions of a loan.

 

"Deferment" means the temporary delay or postponement of a health care professional’s service obligation.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Public Health. (Section 3.01 of the Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Act)

 

"Dentist" means a person licensed to practice dentistry under the Illinois Dental Practice Act.

 

"Direct patient care" means care of a patient provided by a health care professional.  It may involve any aspect of the health care of a patient, including diagnostic and treatment services; support services such as laboratory, radiologic, and pharmacy; counseling; in-service for self-care; patient education; and administration of medication.

 

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. (Section 3.02 of the Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Act)

 

"Due diligence" means action taken toward the completion of a project with the diligence and foresight that persons of ordinary prudence and care would exercise under similar circumstances.

 

"Educational loan repayment award" or "award" means the amount of funding awarded to a health care professional based upon reasonable educational expenses, up to a maximum established by the program.

 

"Federally Qualified Health Center" or "FQHC" means a health center funded under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act.

 

"Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike" or "FQHC Look-Alike" means a health center that meets the requirements for receiving a grant under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act but does not receive funding under that authority.

 

"Fiscal year" means the financial operating year of Illinois State government.  It begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the next calendar year.

 

"Forbearance" means a postponement of loan payments by a lender for a temporary period of time to give the borrower time to make up for overdue payments.

 

"Full-time clinical practice" means working a minimum of 40 hours per week, for a minimum of 45 weeks per service year, at a medical facility in an HPSA in Illinois.

 

"Funding year" means the 12-month period beginning September 1 and ending on August 31 of the following year.

 

"Grantor agency" means any agency of State government which dispenses grant funds. (Section 2(a) of the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act)

 

"Grant funds" means public funds dispensed by the Department to any person or entity for obligation, expenditures or use for a specific purpose. (Section 2(b) of the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act)

 

"Government loans" means loans made by federal, State, county or city agencies authorized to make those loans.

 

"Half-time clinical practice" means working a minimum of 20 hours per week but no more than 39 hours per week, for a minimum of 45 weeks per service year, at a medical facility in an HPSA in Illinois.

 

"Health care professional" means, but is not limited to, a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or dentist who receives loan repayment assistance.

 

"Health professional shortage area" or "HPSA" means a designation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration that indicates the shortage of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers.  The HPSA designation may be geographic (a county or service area), population group (low income, Medicaid eligible) or facility (comprehensive health center, FQHC or other public facility).  HPSA designations can be found at http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov/.

 

"Health professional shortage area score" or "HPSA score" means the HPSA shortage severity score calculated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is assigned to areas or facilities having a health professional shortage designation to determine priorities for assignment of clinicians.

 

"Illinois resident" means a person who is a resident of Illinois at the time of application for educational loan repayment assistance and who is a citizen of the United States.

 

"Judgment lien" means a court ruling that gives a creditor the right to take possession of a debtor's real property if the debtor has not fulfilled a contractual obligation.

 

"Lender" means the commercial or government entity that made the qualifying loan.

 

"Loan repayment agreement" or "agreement" means the written instrument defining a legal relationship entered into between the Department and a recipient.

 

"Loan repayment award" or "award" means the amount of funding awarded to a recipient based upon his/her reasonable educational expenses, up to a maximum established by the program.

 

"Medicaid" means a federal and state-funded health insurance program for low-income individuals and families.

 

"Medical facility" means a facility for the delivery of health services and includes a hospital, State mental health institution, public health center, outpatient medical facility, rehabilitation facility, long term care facility, community mental health center, migrant health center, a community health center, or a State correctional institution. (Section 3.08 of the Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Act.

 

"Medicare" means the federal government's health insurance program for:  people who are 65 or older; certain younger people with disabilities; and people with End-Stage Renal Disease.

 

"Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "MSA" means one or more adjacent counties that have at least one urban core area of at least 50,000 in population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.

 

"National Health Service Corps" or "NHSC" means the program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address health professional shortages in HPSAs through the assignment of clinicians to provide primary health services.

 

"Not-for-profit corporation" means a corporation subject to the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986. (Section 101.80(m) of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986)

 

"Null and void" means that a loan repayment application submitted to the Department has no legal force and is invalid.

 

"On call" means a referring status in which a physician can be reached and arrive at a hospital within 30 minutes after being paged.

 

"Osteopathic medicine" means medical practice based on the theory that diseases are due to loss of structural integrity, which can be restored by manipulation of the parts, supplemented by therapeutic measures.

 

"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches under the Medical Practice Act of 1987.

 

"Physician assistant" means an individual licensed under the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987.

 

"Primary care" means health care that encompasses prevention services, basic diagnostic and treatment services, and support services, including laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy.

 

"Primary care physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in all its branches in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 with a specialty in Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, geriatrics, or hospital medicine as defined by recognized standards of professional medical practice. (Section 3.05 of the Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Act) "Primary care physician" includes a general internist, family physician, or general pediatrician. (Section 3.10 of the Underserved Health Care Provider Workforce Act)

 

"Primary health services" means health services regarding family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, dentistry or mental health that are provided by physicians or other health care professionals.

 

"Psychiatrist" means a physician licensed to practice medicine in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 who has successfully completed an accredited residency program in psychiatry.

 

"Public facility" means any facility, including, but not limited to, buildings, property, recreation areas, and roads, which are owned, leased, or otherwise operated, or funded by a governmental body or public entity.

 

"Qualifying loan" means government or commercial loans used for tuition and reasonable educational and living expenses related to undergraduate or graduate education that were obtained by the recipient prior to his/her application for loan repayment.  These loans shall be contemporaneous with the education received.

 

"Reasonable educational expenses" means costs for education, exclusive of tuition.  These costs include, but are not limited to, fees, books, supplies, clinical travel, educational equipment, materials, board certification or licensing examinations.  These costs shall not exceed the estimated standard budget for expenses for the degree program and for the years of enrollment.

 

"Reasonable living expenses" means room and board, transportation and commuting costs.  These expenses shall not exceed the estimated standard budget for the recipient's degree program and for the years of enrollment.

 

"Recipient" means a health care professional or medical facility that may use loan repayment funds.

 

"Rural" means any geographic area not located in an MSA; or a county located in an MSA but having a population of 60,000 or less; or a community located within an MSA but having a population of 2,500 or less.

 

"Rural health clinic" means a facility certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that receives special Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement. 

 

"Service obligation" means a health care professional who practices full-time or half-time at a medical facility in an HPSA in Illinois.

 

"SLRP" means the State Loan Repayment Program created by this Part.

 

"State" means the State of Illinois.

 

"Submission of application" means an educational loan repayment application has been received by the Department by the established deadline.  Submission does not mean that the application is postmarked by the established submission deadline but arrives at the Department on a later date.

 

"Suspension" means an action by the Department to suspend a recipient's participation in Department grant and loan repayment programs for a specified period of time.

 

"Teaching" means providing clinical education to students or residents in their area of expertise at a medical facility.

 

"Termination for cause" means termination of employment caused by the individual's dishonesty, willful misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional failure to perform stated duties, or willful violation of any law, rule or regulation (other than minor traffic violations or similar offenses).

 

"Termination without cause" means termination of the individual's employment for the convenience of the employer.

 

"Toll" or "Tolling" means to delay or postpone an obligation for a specific time period.

 

"Total and permanent disability" means a physical or mental impairment, disease, or loss of a permanent nature that prevents employment with or without reasonable accommodation.

 

"United States citizen" means an individual born in the United States; Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899; Canal Zone of the Republic of Panama on or after February 26, 1904; Virgin Islands on or after January 17, 1917; Guam born after April 11, 1899; or Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on or after November 4, 1986; foreign-born children, under age 18, residing in the U.S. with their birth or adoptive parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization; and individuals granted citizenship status by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Immigration Service. (See, https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-a-chapter-2; https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-5)

 

"Unencumbered license" means a license issued in good standing that is free of disciplinary limitations.

 

"Urban" means any geographic area that does not meet this Section's definition of "rural".

 

"Waiver" means to permanently relieve a health care professional's service obligation, expressly put forth in writing.

 

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 13300, effective August 29, 2023)