Current through 2024-13, March 27, 2024
Each loan recipient must sign a Loan Agreement with the
Authority including at minimum the following provisions:
1. The loan recipient, except recipients who
withdraw from professional education or no longer reside in Maine, must provide
the annual report to the Authority on forms supplied annually on or before the
date indicated by the Authority as the due date.
2. Until the loan is satisfied, the loan
recipient must report any change of address to the Authority within four weeks
of any address change.
3. A loan
recipient must make a commitment to undertake specific training, including
clinical experiences in livestock or emergency and critical care medicine, and
report such experiences annually to the Authority in the annual report.
4.
Forgiveness
A. Upon compliance with all necessary
procedures, practitioners who practice veterinary medicine full time in an area
of Maine with insufficient veterinary services and whose practice is devoted to
livestock or emergency and critical care at least 20 hours per week, or who
practice veterinary medicine of any type in an underserved geographic region at
least 20 hours per week, will be forgiven 25% of their original outstanding
indebtedness under this Program for each full year of practice during the
repayment period.
B. Upon
compliance with all necessary procedures, practitioners who practice veterinary
medicine full time in an area of Maine with insufficient veterinary services
and whose practice is devoted to livestock or emergency and critical care or to
veterinary medicine of any type in an underserved geographic region less than
20 hours per week, but not less than 10 hours per week, will be forgiven 12.5%
of their original outstanding indebtedness under this Program for each full
year of practice during the repayment period.
C. Upon compliance with all necessary
procedures, practitioners who practice veterinary medicine less than full time
in an area of Maine with insufficient veterinary services but devote at least
10 hours per week to the care of livestock or emergency and critical care or
veterinary medicine of any kind in an underserved geographic region will be
forgiven 12.5% of their original outstanding indebtedness under this Program
for each full year of practice during the repayment period.
D. Loan recipients may receive partial loan
forgiveness on a pro rata basis if they fulfill all the criteria but maintain
the appropriate practice for less than a full calendar year. Loan recipients
must notify the Authority as soon as practicable of the cessation of a practice
allowing for loan forgiveness. The accrual of interest will commence one day
after cessation of such a practice regardless of when notice is received. Cash
payments will be due the earlier of one month after cessation of the practice
or one month after the Authority has received notice.
E. Loan recipients who practice in a
situation which does not qualify them to receive forgiveness of their loan and
later establish a practice which qualifies them to receive forgiveness during
the ten-year repayment period may reduce the balance due through return
service. Any monies due and payable for the time spent in the practice
ineligible for forgiveness must be paid in cash and will not be forgiven for
return service in Maine. Each year of return service will reduce the remaining
balance including accrued interest by the applicable amount of the total
original indebtedness.
F. The
Authority may, in the discretion of the chief executive officer, refuse to
credit all or any part of forgiveness of any loan if the loan recipient fails
to return the annual report within 30 days of the due date of such report or
fails to provide any information requested by the Maine Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry within 30 days of any such request.
G. The Maine Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry shall assist the Authority in
determining whether the level of service provided by the loan recipient to
livestock or in emergency and critical care setting or to veterinary medicine
of any type in an underserved geographic region was reasonable. If the Maine
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry determines that the level
of service provided was not reasonable, the Authority may refuse to grant any
loan forgiveness for the period of the loan.
5.
Repayment. All loan
recipients who do not qualify for loan forgiveness must repay their
indebtedness plus 5% annual interest on the following terms:
A. The repayment period will begin six months
following completion of professional education or upon withdrawal from school
for whatever reason. The loan recipient is responsible for notifying the
Authority of such completion of professional education or withdrawal from
school.
B. Payments must be made in
monthly installments on a repayment schedule established by the Authority.
C. Interest will begin to accrue
at the beginning of the repayment period. The first monthly installment will be
due one month following the date determined as the beginning of the repayment
period.
D. Loans must be repaid
over a term no greater than ten years. The term may be extended upon a finding
by the chief executive officer that such an extension is necessary to assure
the repayment of the loan.
E.
Default. If a payment is not made within 30 days following the due
date the Authority may declare the loan in default and give the loan recipient
30 days to cure the default. If the loan recipient fails to cure the default
after 30 days' notice, the Authority may declare the entire amount due and
payable including attorney's fees.
F.
Deferment. Deferments during
the repayment period may be granted by the chief executive officer upon written
request by a student. The request must state the reason for the deferment and
must include all supporting information and documentation. Deferments will be
decided on a case-by-case basis. The decision of the chief executive officer is
final. Deferments may be granted for each of the following reasons:
(1) The temporary disability of the borrower;
(2) The borrower's temporary
inability to meet the requirements necessary to obtain forgiveness of the loan,
if the borrower evidences the intent to pursue one of the forgiveness
provisions;
(3) The demonstration
by the borrower that immediate repayment of the loan will cause an undue
hardship, as determined by the chief executive officer;
(4) Such other reasons as the chief executive
officer may approve.
G.
Death or Permanent Disability. On the death of a loan recipient as
evidenced by a certified death certificate or on the total and permanent
disability of a loan recipient, as certified by a licensed physician, all
amounts remaining due from the recipient will be forgiven.