Code of Maine Rules
94 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
457 - FINANCE AUTHORITY OF MAINE (FAME)
Chapter 617 - HEALTH PROFESSIONS LOAN PROGRAM
Section 457-617-1 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Annual report" means a report provided annually by the Authority to the loan recipient, requiring the loan recipient to provide a current address and status of the loan recipient's professional education, training or practice and such other information the Authority deems useful or necessary for the efficient administration of the Program.

B. "Chief executive officer" means the chief executive officer of the Authority or a person acting under the supervisory control of the chief executive officer.

C. "Completion of professional education" means completion of medical, dental or veterinary school, post-graduate training and obligated public health service, and/or obligated national service, if any.

D. "Financial need" means the financial cost of attendance as published by the institution minus the loan recipient's expected family contribution as calculated under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

E. "Health professional shortage area" means an area in Maine lacking in medical professionals as designated by the Maine Commissioner of Health and Human Services.

F. "Institution" or "school" means an institution or school of allopathic, osteopathic veterinary or dental education.

G. "Insufficient veterinary services" means an insufficient number of practitioners of veterinary medicine in either a veterinary specialty or geographic area, as determined by the Maine Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

H. "Maine resident" means a person who has been a resident of Maine for a minimum of one year at the time of matriculation at an institution for other than educational purposes. In determining whether an applicant is a Maine resident the Authority may consider (1) the secondary school the applicant attended; (2) the legal residence of the applicant's parents; (3) the location where the applicant is registered to vote, if any; (4) the jurisdiction(s) in which the applicant files income tax forms; (5) the jurisdiction where the applicant is licensed to drive, if any; (6) such other relevant documents and information as determined necessary or desirable in the opinion of the chief executive officer.

I. "Obligated national service" means an obligation incurred for financial assistance during undergraduate or graduate education, for internship or residency training provided by the Armed Forces Services of the United States, or for compulsory national service required by an Act of Congress.

J. "Postgraduate training" includes internships, residencies, and fellowships that fulfill the requirements for certifications/licensure by the corresponding Council/Board on Graduate Education of Allopathic Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Dentistry or the appropriate specialty. For borrowers receiving a first program loan in 2017 or after, except veterinary and dental students, postgraduate training may not exceed 6 years.

K. "Primary health care" means general or family practice of medicine, general internal medicine or internal medicine, general pediatrics or pediatrics, internal medicine-pediatrics, general dentistry and general obstetrics and gynecology.

L. "Repayment period" means the period of time commencing six months following completion of professional education or upon withdrawal from school, and continuing for ten years.

M. "Underserved group" means an underserved population group in Maine receiving insufficient primary health care or dental services as determined by the Maine Commissioner of Health and Human Services. Such a designation may be limited to a geographic area of Maine or to a specific practice location in the discretion of the Maine Commissioner of Health and Human Services.

N. "Underserved specialty" means a medical specialty in which there are insufficient practitioners either throughout Maine or within a designated geographic area of Maine, which may be a specific practice location, as determined by the Maine Commissioner of Health and Human Services.