(a) The office shall administer the California Medical and Dental Student Loan Repayment Program of 2002. Any individual enrolled in an institution of postsecondary education participating in the program set forth in this article may be eligible to receive a conditional warrant for loan repayment, to be redeemed upon becoming employed as a physician or dentist in a medically underserved area or a dentally underserved area serving primarily medically or dentally underserved populations. In order to be eligible to receive a conditional loan repayment warrant, an applicant shall satisfy all of the following conditions:

(1)  The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that may include, but not be limited to, any of the following:

(A)  Grade point average.

(B)  Test scores.

(C)  Faculty evaluations.

(D)  Interviews.

(E)  Other recommendations.

(2)  In order to meet the costs associated with obtaining a medical or dental degree, the applicant has received, or is approved to receive, a loan under one or more of the following designated loan programs:

(A)  The Federal Family Education Loan Program (10 U.S.C. Sec. 1071 et seq.).

(B)  Any loan program approved by the Student Aid Commission.

(3)  The applicant has agreed to provide services as a licensed physician for up to three consecutive years, after obtaining a license from the Medical Board of California in a medically underserved area, or the applicant has agreed to provide services as a licensed dentist for up to three consecutive years, after obtaining a license from the Dental Board of California in a dentally underserved area.

(4)  The applicant has agreed to work in a setting where the applicant will primarily serve medically or dentally underserved populations.

(b)  The office shall ensure that priority consideration be given to applicants who are best suited to meet the cultural and linguistic needs and demands of medically and dentally underserved populations and who meet one or more of the following criteria:

(1)  Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.

(2)  Come from an economically disadvantaged background.

(3)  Have received significant training in cultural and linguistically appropriate service delivery.

(4)  Have done a medical rotation serving medically underserved populations or provided dental services to members of a dentally underserved population.

(c)  A person participating in the program pursuant to this section shall not receive more than one warrant.

(d)  The office shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the reallocation of warrants if a participating institution is unable to utilize its allocated warrants or is unable to distribute them within a reasonable time period.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1131, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 2003.)