FISCAL NOTE
FUND(S):
Sources of Revenue:
Other Fund
Legislation creates:
A New Fund
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
House Bill 2052, if approved, would authorize the State of West Virginia to make loans to students in accredited programs for nursing, dental hygiene, social work, and dentistry, and to award loan forgiveness to these students if they practice in a medically underserved area or in a specialty that has a shortage. Students who do not meet the forgiveness criteria would repay their loans. If 400 awards were provided at $2500 each, the annual cost of the loan disbursements would be about $1,000,000. If the loans were cancelled for employment service in underserved areas, it is estimated that 90% of the amount disbursed would be cancelled.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2011
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2012
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
1,000,000 |
1,000,000 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
4,088 students were enrolled in nursing programs at public institutions during the fall of 2010. These institutions enrolled about 799 students in social work programs. The West Virginia School of Dentistry enrolled 196 students. The number of student enrolled in dental hygiene programs at West Virginia public institutions was 325. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data were used to calculate the percentages of students graduating in these programs from public and private institutions. According to the NCES, the percentage of West Virginia students graduating from public institutions was 56.48 percent, 93.78 percent, and 58.72 percent for nursing, social work and dental support services and allied professions respectively. The dentistry students were enrolled at West Virginia University. The enrollments listed above were divided by these percentages for each program to estimate the total number of students. During the fall of 2010 approximately 8,839 qualifying students were enrolled in West Virginia.
Nursing and dental hygiene students are eligible for the Higher Education Grant (up to $3,100), and LPN students are eligible for the HEAPS Grant Program’s workforce component (estimated average award of $750). Social work students are eligible for institutional aid, federal grants and loans, tuition stipends, and graduate assistantships. Dental students are eligible for institutional aid and federal grants and loans.
Because the Legislature could place as much funding as it wants into this program, the following scenarios illustrate how many awards could be made at various funding levels.
Average Number Total
Loaned of Program
Amount Awards Funding
Eligible Students $2,500 100 $250,000
Eligible Students $2,500 200 $500,000
Eligible Students $2,500 300 $750,000
Eligible Students $2,500 400 $1,000,000
From information provided by the Department of Health and Human Resources, it is estimated that 90 percent of the West Virginia is underserved by medical professionals. Given this estimate, about $900,000 of an annual $1,000,000 disbursement would be cancelled. About $50,000 would need to be paid for an additional staff member to administer the loan program. It is estimated that about five percent of the annual loan disbursements or $50,000 would be uncollectible.
Memorandum
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Ed Magee
Email Address: emagee@hepc.wvnet.edu