Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
secretary
Health and Human Resources
Agency
Virginia Department of Health
Board
State Board of Health
Mandate 1183

Mandate Information
Mandate Title:
Behavioral Health Plan - promulgate regulations regarding the Behvaioral Health Repayment Program
Purpose of legislation
This amendment restores funding and language that was provided in Chapter 1289, 2020 Virginia Acts of Assembly, to establish the Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program. Funding for this Item was unallotted in April, 2020 and eliminated in Chapter 56, 2020 Special Session I Acts of Assembly. The program would increase the number of Virginia behavioral health practitioners through the establishment of an educational loan repayment incentive that complements and coordinates with existing efforts to recruit and retain Virginia behavioral health practitioners. The program would allow for a variety of behavioral health practitioners to receive a student loan repayment award from the Commonwealth in exchange for providing service to Virginia communities that are otherwise underserved. Practitioners would receive loan repayment for up to 25 percent of student loan debt for each year of health care service provided to the Commonwealth. Maximum loan repayment amounts per year are dependent upon the type of behavioral health professional applying and shall not exceed the total student loan debt. Participating practitioners will have an initial two-year minimum participation obligation and may renew for a third and fourth year. This provides the practitioner with the opportunity to fully pay off their student loan debt while providing four years of service to the Commonwealth. In addition, this amendment also strikes outdated language related to developing a plan for increasing the number of behavioral health practitioners.
Legislation mandating a change
Budget item mandating a change Item 295 (2021)
VAC chapters to be amended Not yet determined.
Associated Regulatory Actions No regulatory action has been filed.
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