WeVote
Log In

Bill

PS

Bill

LB 312

Include nurse anesthesia practice and dietitian nutrition practice under the Rural Health Systems and Professional Incentive Act

109th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Paul Strommen

Nebraska expands loan and loan-repayment incentives to nurse anesthetists and dietitian nutritionists to recruit/retain them in designated rural shortage areas who accept Medicaid.

Provisions/portions of LB553 amended into LB312 by AM591
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · LB 312

Summary — LB312 (2025)

Title: Include nurse anesthesia practice and dietitian nutrition practice under the Rural Health Systems and Professional Incentive Act
Sponsor: Sen. Paul Strommen (primary)
Status: Enacted — Approved by Governor April 7, 2025 (Final Reading passed Apr 3, 2025). Provisions of LB553 incorporated by amendment AM591 (Mar 11, 2025) to add dietitian nutritionists.

Purpose

LB312 expands Nebraska’s Rural Health Systems and Professional Incentive Act to add:
- Nurse anesthetists (and students in nurse anesthesia programs), and
- Dietitian nutritionists (added by AM591)
as eligible for student loans and for loan repayment incentives aimed at recruiting and retaining these professionals in designated rural health profession shortage areas.

Key provisions

  • Statutory changes: Amends sections 71‑5662, 71‑5663, 71‑5665, and 71‑5668, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024.
  • Student loans: Students enrolled or accepted into accredited nurse anesthesia practice programs and dietitian nutritionist programs in Nebraska are eligible for student loans under the Act (loan limits remain as provided in statute — generally up to $30,000 per academic year, subject to existing caps and special rules).
  • Loan repayment eligibility: Nurse anesthetists and dietitian nutritionists are added to the list of professions eligible for state loan repayment assistance if they:
    • Are licensed to practice in Nebraska,
    • Are not enrolled in a residency program or practicing under a provisional/temporary license,
    • Enter practice in a designated health profession shortage area, and
    • Execute an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and a local entity.
  • Service requirement and Medicaid: Repayment recipients (including nurse anesthetists and dietitian nutritionists) must commit to at least three years of full‑time practice in a designated shortage area and agree to accept Medicaid patients.
  • Payment structure and limits:
    • For physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, pharmacists, physical/occupational therapists, dietitian nutritionists, and mental health practitioners: up to $15,000 per recipient per year of full‑time practice in a designated shortage area, not to exceed $45,000 total (typically over three years).
    • For physicians, psychiatrists, dentists, and psychologists: up to $30,000 per recipient per year, not to exceed $90,000 total (existing provisions unchanged).
    • State and a local entity provide equal funding toward repayment (i.e., matching contributions).
  • Shortage-area designation: The Rural Health Commission’s list of professions for which it may designate shortage areas explicitly includes nurse anesthesia practice and dietitian nutritionist practice.
  • Agreements: Loan repayment agreements are exempt from the State Procurement Act and must contain the minimum terms required by statute.

Who is affected

  • Directly: nurse anesthetists (and students in nurse anesthesia programs), dietitian nutritionists (and students), DHHS, local funding entities, the Rural Health Commission.
  • Indirectly: rural communities designated as health profession shortage areas, patients (including Medicaid beneficiaries), employers in rural health care settings.

Procedural/timeline highlights

  • Introduced Jan 16, 2025; Health & Human Services Committee hearing Feb 7, 2025 (advanced to General File).
  • Amendment AM591 (filed and adopted Mar 11, 2025) incorporated provisions to add dietitian nutritionists (from LB553).
  • Passed Final Reading Apr 3, 2025 (vote: 46-1-2) and approved by Governor Apr 7, 2025.
  • Fiscal notes for LB312 were prepared (dates: Feb 6 and Mar 13, 2025); the bill’s matching‑fund requirement and new eligible cohorts have potential fiscal implications at state and local levels.

Expected impact

The bill aims to strengthen recruitment and retention of nurse anesthetists and dietitian nutritionists in rural/underserved Nebraska by reducing educational debt and incentivizing Medicaid‑accepting practice in shortage areas. The matching requirement assigns a funding role to local entities and may have budgetary implications locally and for the state.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.