HEALTH PROVIDER REPAYMENT; MODIFY                                                S.B. 343 (S-1):

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                     REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 343 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor:  Senator Curtis S. VanderWall

Committee:  Health Policy and Human Services

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Public Health Code to specify that the maximum amount of debt or expense that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) could pay on behalf of a designated health professional through a health provider repayment program would be $250,000 over ten or more years.

MCL 333.2705                                                         Legislative Analyst:  Tyler VanHuyse

FISCAL IMPACT

This bill would have no fiscal impact on the Department of Health and Human Services or local units of government. The number of loan repayment contracts that the DHHS enters into with eligible medical providers is limited by the yearly appropriation to the Michigan Essential Health Provider Program. By allowing for increased expenditures per participant, the bill could decrease the total number of contracts that the DHHS can enter into depending on the number of eligible medical providers who agreed to contracts for a term of 10 years or longer and the participant's eligible education debt, assuming a flat appropriation level in future fiscal years. A recent funding history of the Michigan Essential Health Provider program is provided below.

Fiscal Year (FY)	Provider Contracts	Gross	GF/GP	Federal	Private
FY 2013-2014	92	2,491,300	1,000,000	1,236,300	255,000
FY 2014-2015	104	3,591,300	1,500,000	1,236,300	855,000
FY 2015-2016	69	3,591,300	1,500,000	1,236,300	855,000
FY 2016-2017	67	3,591,300	1,500,000	1,236,300	855,000
FY 2017-2018	86	3,591,300	1,500,000	1,236,300	855,000
FY 2018-2019	N/A*	3,591,300	1,500,000	1,236,300	855,000
FY 2019-2020 Proposed**	N/A	4,521,200	2,429,900	1,236,300	855,000
*Unavailable until the close of the fiscal year. **This amount reflects the Senate Proposed funding level. The Executive Recommendation includes $1.0 million General Fund/General Purpose (GF/GP) less than the Senate and the House Proposal includes $1,137,000 GF/GP less than the Senate.

Date Completed:  9-6-19                                                 Fiscal Analyst:  Ellyn Ackerman

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.