Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program.

Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information. Existing law requires the department to administer various programs, including the California Registered Nurse Education Program, designed to encourage an adequate supply of health professionals. This bill would require the department to develop and administer the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to provide loan assistance payments to qualifying public health workforce staff. The bill would require the department to commence providing loan assistance payments to individuals as of July 1, 2024. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to establish various things, including an application process for applicants and eligibility criteria, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before April 4 each year, to post a report on the program, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific those provisions by means of policy letters, provider bulletins, or other similar instructions, without taking regulatory action. This bill would appropriate $90,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to administer and implement those provisions, in accordance with a specified schedule.