The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) Board--The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. (2) CHIP--The Children's Health Insurance Program, authorized by the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 62. (3) Commissioner--The commissioner of higher education, the chief executive officer of the Board. (4) Federally Qualified Health Center--Any entity in Texas defined under 42 USC §1396d (l)(2)(B). (5) DSHS--The Texas Department of State Health Services. (6) Full-time Service--An average of at least 32.5 hours of direct patient care per week during the service period at the HPSA practice site. (7) HPSAs--Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are designated by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as having shortages of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers and may be geographic (a county or service area), demographic (low income population) or institutional (comprehensive health center, federally qualified health center or other public facility). Designations meet the requirements of Sec. 332 of the Public Health Service Act, 90 Stat. 2270-2272 (42 U.S.C. 254e). Texas HPSAs are recommended for designation by HHS based on analysis of data by DSHS. (8) Medicaid--The medical assistance program authorized by Chapter 32, Texas Human Resources Code. (9) Primary Care Specialty--Family medicine, family practice, general practice, obstetrics/gynecology, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, medicine-pediatrics, psychiatry, or geriatrics. (10) Rural HPSA--A HPSA-designated county or a HPSA-designated area or population in a county of less than 50,000 people. (11) Service Period--A period of 12 consecutive months qualifying a physician for loan repayment. |
