(a)Annual loans extended under subdivision (1) of Section 34-22-62 shall be repaid following graduation, either in cash as is provided in subdivision (1) or under terms of a contract to serve in an area of need in Alabama for a term to be specified by the board as provided in subdivision (2). Any monies received from recipients in repayment of a loan under subdivision (1) or (2), upon receipt, shall be retained by the Board of Optometric Scholarship and Loan Awards to be used for the funding of future scholarships awards and loans. The board shall establish a separate fund for these purposes.
(1)Repayment of annual loans under this subdivision shall be made to the board in full at an interest rate determined by the board from the date of graduation from the optometry school, and payments
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(a) Annual loans extended under subdivision (1) of Section 34-22-62 shall be repaid following graduation, either in cash as is provided in subdivision (1) or under terms of a contract to serve in an area of need in Alabama for a term to be specified by the board as provided in subdivision (2). Any monies received from recipients in repayment of a loan under subdivision (1) or (2), upon receipt, shall be retained by the Board of Optometric Scholarship and Loan Awards to be used for the funding of future scholarships awards and loans. The board shall establish a separate fund for these purposes.
(1) Repayment of annual loans under this subdivision shall be made to the board in full at an interest rate determined by the board from the date of graduation from the optometry school, and payments are to be made according to terms established by the board, the first of which is due six months after graduation from optometry school or the completion of residency training, whichever occurs last. Repayment in full shall be completed within eight years from initiation of repayment. Any recipient who fails for any reason to continue his or her optometric education or who fails to practice optometry in this state shall repay all loan amounts in accordance with terms and conditions established by the board. The interest rate on the unpaid loan amounts shall be applied from the date of departure or removal from the optometry school.
(2) Repayment of annual loans under this subdivision shall be made by service in one of the following ways, subject to approval by the board and considering the most current Optometric Shortage Index:
a. Practice for a four-year period in a community of less than 5,000 population which has been deemed to be critically in need of additional optometric practitioners.
b. Practice for a five-year period in a community of more than 5,000 population and less than 15,000 population which has been deemed to be critically in need of additional optometric practitioners.
c. Practice for a five-year period in a community of more than 15,000 but less than 100,000 population and repayment of one-half the loan plus an interest rate set by the board to be repaid annually in five annual payments, beginning at the end of the first year of practice.
d. Practice for four years in a position in Alabama in public health or as an optometrist in any state institution approved by the board.
e. Part-time service in an area of critical need that is one of the top 50 percent of areas with the highest rate under the most recent Optometric Shortage Index. The loan recipient shall spend an average of 20 hours a week on an annual basis practicing direct patient care in the designated area to receive partial forgiveness up to 50 percent of his or her annual loan amount.
f. For loans of less than four years of study, service repayment may be prorated on the basis of one-fourth of the above requirements for each loan.
(b)(1) Loans extended under subdivision (3) of Section 34-22-62 shall be repaid under terms of a contract by working in full-time clinical practice as a licensed optometrist in an area of critical need, approved by the board, for six years or as provided in subdivision (2). Each optometrist participating in the Alabama Optometric Service Program shall participate in the state Medicaid program under the terms of the written contract.
(2) If the participant can demonstrate to the board’s satisfaction that a qualifying percent of the participant’s active patients were indigent or covered by Medicaid during the previous year, the participant shall receive additional service credit based on the following criteria:
a. Three months if at least 20 percent of the participant’s active patients were indigent or covered by Medicaid during the previous year.
b. Six months if at least 30 percent of the participant’s active patients were indigent or covered by Medicaid during the previous year.
c. One year if at least 50 percent of the participant’s active patients were indigent or covered by Medicaid during the previous year.
(3) A participant in the program, subject to approval by the board, may change the area of critical need where he or she will work to repay loans under this program, but in no case shall the participant work in a full-time clinical practice for less than four years in the new area of critical need.
(4)a. An area of critical need shall be any area in this state that is one of the top 30 percent of areas with the highest rate under the most recent Optometric Shortage Index. The board may also consider the percentage of practicing optometrists in a county or shortage area that are over the age of 65 in determining an area of critical need.
b. The board may allow a participant in the Alabama Optometric Service Program to serve part-time in an area of critical need that is one of the top eight percent of areas with the highest rate under the most recent Optometric Shortage Index. The participant must spend an average of 20 hours per week on an annual basis practicing direct patient care in the designated area for a minimum of six years to qualify for full forgiveness of the loan.