677 - Regents physician loan forgiveness program.

* § 677.  Regents  physician  loan  forgiveness program. 1. Number and  certification. Eighty regents physician loan forgiveness awards shall be  awarded each year. Such awards shall be allocated as provided in article  thirteen of this chapter to eligible  physicians  as  certified  to  the  president by the commissioner.    2.  Calculation  of  award  amounts.  Each  award shall consist of two  consecutive  annual  loan  forgiveness  payments.  Each  of  the  annual  payments  shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate and  medical school student loan expense or ten thousand dollars whichever is  less. The president shall be  responsible  for  calculating  the  dollar  amount  of  each  award  that eligibile candidates may receive from this  program. For the purposes of this section, student  loan  expense  shall  mean  the cumulative total of the annual student loans covering the cost  of attendance at an undergraduate  institution  and/or  medical  school.  Interest  paid  or  due on student loans that an applicant has taken out  for use in paying for such undergraduate and/or medical education  shall  be considered eligible for reimbursement under this program.    3.  Award  disbursement.  a.  Annual  award disbursements shall be the  responsibility of the president and shall occur prior to  the  beginning  of  each  of  the  required terms of service as specified in the service  contract. The  board  of  trustees  of  the  higher  education  services  corporation  shall  adopt  rules  and regulations regarding criteria for  determining successful completion of the service contract and any appeal  process  that  may  be  required  to  implement  this   paragraph   upon  recommendation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.    b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon  successful  completion  of  the  first  year  requirement of the service  contract as defined by the president, as  well  as  other  criteria  set  forth in this section.    * NB Program terminates per Ch 31/85 § 17, as amended