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Board of Medical Student Loans

Revision Date

Agency Contact Information

Board of Medical Student Loans

Authority

The Board of Medical Student Loans was created in 1977. Current statutory authority is found at A.R.S. §§15-1721 through 15-1725.

Function

The Board of Medical Student Loans (Board) provides loans to Arizona medical students in return for their service in rural or medically underserved areas in the state. The Board reviews applications, determines eligibility and awards loans based on specific qualifications and requirements. Medical students at public and private medical schools in Arizona are eligible to apply. Students must be residents of Arizona. A contract between the student and the Board outlines obligations, interest rates, repayment and penalties for failure to fulfill the conditions of the contract. The Board consists of two members appointed by the Governor, the Director of ADHS, and one member from each accredited medical school in the state. Members are appointed to four-year terms.

History

Laws 1977, Chapter 171 established the seven-member Board of Medical Student Loans, outlined its powers and duties, authorized the Board to grant medical student loans, prescribed conditions for repayment, and created the Medical Student Loan Fund. The measure required the Board to issue an annual report describing its activities, including information on loans granted, a list of recipients and, for those who have completed their education, the location of their practice.

Laws 1981, Chapter 1 enacted a new education code which repealed and rewrote A.R.S. Title 15. The measure included a legislative intent clause which explained the act was not intended to change the substance or meaning of existing provisions of law, but was drafted to place existing statutes in an orderly sequence. Statutory provisions relating to the Board of Medical Student Loans were renumbered, but were essentially retained as originally enacted in 1977. See Section 28. A second measure enacted in 1981 made non-substantive and conforming changes to Board statutes. See Laws 1981, Chapter 314.

Laws 1992, Chapter 338 revised the qualifications to receive a loan, modified limits on the amount of a loan, and addressed repayment obligations.

Laws 1996, Chapter 154 required the Board to collect data on the retention of doctors who serve in rural or other medically underserved areas. A second measure enacted in 1996 subjected the Medical Student Loan Fund to legislative appropriation. See Laws 1996, Chapter 335.

Laws 1999, Chapter 79 increased the number of members on the Board from seven to eight and

allowed the Board to grant loans to students at either a public or private school of medicine in Arizona. The total amount of a loan was limited to the cost of a medical education at a public university in the state.

Laws 2001, Chapter 27 addressed administrative changes recommended as part of the sunset review process with regard to maximum loan amounts, types of medical practice that meet service agreement requirements, tracking and reporting, and repayment obligations.

Laws 2005, Chapter 330 established the medical student scholarship program and the Medical Student Scholarship Fund. The measure included an appropriation of $1.5 million from the state General Fund in FY 2005-06 to implement the scholarship program. The measure also created the Joint Study Committee on Medical School Education to review medical education needs, methods to retain practitioners and to examine factors that create barriers to practice medicine in Arizona. A report of findings and conclusions was due to the Governor and Legislature by December 1, 2005.

Laws 2006, Chapter 352 repealed the medical scholarship program and Medical Student Scholarship Fund which had been created in 2005, provided transition language for students who had been awarded scholarships, and transferred monies remaining in the Scholarship Fund to the Medical Student Loan Fund. The measure also reestablished the Joint Study Committee on Medical School Education and required a report of findings and recommendations by December 1, 2006.

Laws 2012, Chapter 301 transferred administration of the Medical Student Loan Fund to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Laws 2021, Chapter 442 changed the qualification and number of Board members, deleted the authority for ADHS to administer the Fund and continued the Board until July 1, 2029. The measure also revised requirements relating to loan repayment and established penalties for a loan recipient who does not fulfill the conditions of the contract.

Sources

  • Arizona Revised Statutes §§15-1721 through 15-1725
  • Session Laws
    • Laws 1977, Chapter 171
    • Laws 1981, Chapter 1 and Chapter 314
    • Laws 1992, Chapter 338
    • Laws 1996, Chapter 154 and Chapter 335
    • Laws 1999, Chapter 79
    • Laws 2001, Chapter 27
    • Laws 2005, Chapter 330
    • Laws 2006, Chapter 352
    • Laws 2012, Chapter 301
    • Laws 2021, Chapter 442

Performance Audit, Board of Medical Student Loans. Arizona Auditor General Report No. 00-6. May, 2000.

Joint Legislative Budget Committee 2019 Baseline Book. See Department of Health Services, Summary of Funds, page 266.