[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1185 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1185

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a competitive 
   loan repayment program for primary care physicians who commit to 
          volunteering part-time at community health centers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2009

Ms. Castor of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a competitive 
   loan repayment program for primary care physicians who commit to 
          volunteering part-time at community health centers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Primary Care Volunteer Incentive Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. PRIMARY CARE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.

    Part C of title VII of the Public Health Service Act is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 749. PRIMARY CARE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to alleviate 
critical shortages of primary care physicians.
    ``(b) Loan Repayments.--The Secretary shall establish a loan 
repayment program of entering into contracts (under terms and 
conditions specified by the Secretary and consistent with this section) 
with eligible individuals under which, subject to subsection (i)(2)--
            ``(1) the individual agrees to serve without pay for at 
        least 4 hours each week for a period of 5 consecutive years--
                    ``(A) as a primary care physician; and
                    ``(B) at a health center, as defined in section 
                330, designated by the Secretary (as of the date of the 
                application of the individual for a contract under this 
                section) as serving an area with a shortage of primary 
                care physicians; and
            ``(2) the Secretary agrees to pay, for each year of such 
        service, not more than $5,000 of the principal and interest of 
        the graduate educational loans of the individual.
    ``(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the loan 
repayment program under this section, an individual must--
            ``(1) have a degree in medicine or osteopathic medicine;
            ``(2)(A) have completed an accredited graduate medical 
        residency training program in primary care medicine; or
            ``(B) be enrolled in such a residency training program; and
            ``(3) submit to the Secretary an application, in such form, 
        manner, and time as specified by the Secretary, for a contract 
        under this section.
    ``(d) Application, Contract, and Information Requirements.--The 
provisions of section 338B(c) shall, except as inconsistent with this 
section, apply to the loan repayment program under this section in the 
same manner and to the same extent as such provisions apply to the 
National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program under section 
338B, except that each reference to a health professional shortage area 
shall be deemed a reference to a community health center described in 
subsection (b)(1)(B).
    ``(e) Priority.--In providing contracts under the loan repayment 
program under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to 
individuals who agree to serve in community health centers described in 
subsection (b)(1)(B) that are located in areas that the Secretary, as 
of the date of the individual's application for a contract under this 
section, has designated under section 332 as health professional 
shortage areas.
    ``(f) Approval Required for Participation.--An individual becomes a 
participant in the loan repayment program under this section only upon 
the Secretary and the individual entering into a written contract under 
this section.
    ``(g) Payments.--
            ``(1) In general.--A loan repayment provided for an 
        individual under a written contract under this section shall 
        consist of payment, in accordance with paragraph (2), on behalf 
        of the individual of the principal, interest, and related 
        expenses on government and commercial loans received by the 
        individual regarding the graduate education of the individual, 
        which loans were made for--
                    ``(A) tuition expenses;
                    ``(B) all other reasonable educational expenses, 
                including fees, books, and laboratory expenses, 
                incurred by the individual; or
                    ``(C) reasonable living expenses as determined by 
                the Secretary.
            ``(2) Payments for years served.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For each year of service 
                described in subsection (b)(1) that an individual 
                contracts to serve under this section the Secretary may 
                pay not more than $5,000 on behalf of the individual 
                for loans described in paragraph (1). In making a 
                determination of the amount to pay for a year of such 
                service by an individual, the Secretary shall consider 
                the extent to which each such determination--
                            ``(i) affects the ability of the Secretary 
                        to maximize the number of contracts that can be 
                        provided under the loan repayment program under 
                        this section from the amounts appropriated for 
                        such contracts;
                            ``(ii) provides an incentive to serve in 
                        community health centers with the greatest 
                        shortage of primary care physicians; and
                            ``(iii) provides an incentive with respect 
                        to the individual involved remaining in an area 
                        with a shortage of primary care physicians, and 
                        continuing to provide health services in 
                        primary care medicine, after the completion of 
                        the period of service described in subsection 
                        (b)(1).
                    ``(B) Repayment schedule.--Any arrangement made by 
                the Secretary for the making of loan repayments in 
                accordance with this subsection shall provide that any 
                repayments for a year of service described in 
                subsection (b)(1) shall be made no later than the end 
                of the fiscal year in which the individual completes 
                such year of service.
            ``(3) Tax liability.--For the purpose of providing 
        reimbursements for tax liability resulting from payments under 
        paragraph (2) on behalf of an individual--
                    ``(A) the Secretary shall, in addition to such 
                payments, make payments to the individual in an amount 
                equal to 39 percent of the total amount of loan 
                repayments made for the taxable year involved; and
                    ``(B) may make such additional payments as the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate with respect to 
                such purpose.
            ``(4) Payment schedule.--The Secretary may enter into an 
        agreement with the holder of any loan for which payments are 
        made under the loan repayment program under this section to 
        establish a schedule for the making of such payments.
    ``(h) Breach of Contract.--The provisions of section 338E shall 
apply to an individual who breaches a contract under this section in 
the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions apply to an 
individual who breaches a contract under section 338B.
    ``(i) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Primary care medicine.--The term `primary care 
        medicine' shall include family medicine, general pediatrics, 
        and general internal medicine.
            ``(2) Primary care physician.--The term `primary care 
        physician' means a physician specializing in primary care 
        medicine.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--To carry out this section, there is 
        authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary for 
        each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
            ``(2) Contingency.--Any financial obligation of the United 
        States arising out of a contract entered into under this 
        section and any obligation of the individual that is 
        conditioned thereon, is contingent on funds being appropriated 
        for loan repayments under paragraph (1).''.
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