[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5224 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5224

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a scholarship 
program to increase the availability of physicians who provide primary 
    health care services at medical facilities of the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2014

Mr. McDermott introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a scholarship 
program to increase the availability of physicians who provide primary 
    health care services at medical facilities of the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Restoring the Doctors of Our Country 
through Scholarships Veterans Affairs Act of 2014'' or the ``RDOCS-VA 
Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Medical facilities of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs are in dire need of more physicians, with a particular 
        need for doctors trained in primary care specialties.
            (2) The Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program 
        established by chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code, 
        provides educational assistance through scholarships and loan 
        forgiveness for a range of health professionals, however, it 
        does not specifically encourage a commitment to primary care by 
        physicians employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (3) The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) model of 
        education and training is a respected and effective way of 
        meeting the need of the United States for educated and trained 
        officers in the Armed Forces, and it can be applied to train 
        and educate physicians to provide primary care services.
            (4) Congress can build off of the Health Professionals 
        Educational Assistance Program and the ROTC model to solve the 
        primary care shortage by providing full-tuition scholarships to 
        students committed to serving the United States as primary care 
        doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESTORING THE DOCTORS OF OUR COUNTRY THROUGH 
              SCHOLARSHIPS--VETERANS AFFAIRS PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:

    ``SUBCHAPTER VIII--RESTORING THE DOCTORS OF OUR COUNTRY THROUGH 
                     SCHOLARSHIPS--VETERANS AFFAIRS

``Sec. 7691. Authority for program
    ``As part of the Educational Assistance Program, the Secretary 
shall carry out a scholarship program under this subchapter in order to 
provide for the increased availability of physicians who provide 
primary health care services at medical facilities of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. The program shall be known as the Restoring the 
Doctors of Our Country through Scholarships-Veterans Affairs program 
(in this subchapter referred to as the `RDOCS-VA program').
``Sec. 7692. Scholarship program
    ``(a) In General.--In carrying out the RDOCS-VA program, the 
Secretary shall award not less than 400 RDOCS-VA scholarships to 
individuals who are selected by the Secretary and enter into an 
agreement under subsection (b). Under such scholarships, the Secretary 
shall pay--
            ``(1) to the participating undergraduate medical program 
        all tuition and costs for the undergraduate medical education 
        of an RDOCS-VA scholar for a period of study not exceeding 48 
        consecutive months; and
            ``(2) to the RDOCS-VA scholar a cost-of-living stipend, in 
        an amount determined by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Agreement.--To participate in the RDOCS-VA program, an RDOCS-
VA scholar shall agree to--
            ``(1) be admitted into and maintain enrollment in a 
        participating undergraduate medical program in the State of 
        residence of the scholar (or if such State of residence 
        operates no such program, in a participating undergraduate 
        medical program in a State within an associated region);
            ``(2) when enrolled in such program, maintain a minimum 
        level of academic standing (to be determined by the Secretary);
            ``(3) complete an accredited residency training program in 
        a primary care specialty;
            ``(4) become licensed to practice medicine in the State of 
        residence of the scholar;
            ``(5) receive and maintain board certification in a primary 
        care specialty; and
            ``(6) complete a five-year post-graduate period of 
        employment by the Department of Veterans Affairs performing 
        primary care services.
    ``(c) Priority in Awarding Scholarships.--In selecting RDOCS-VA 
scholars and awarding scholarships under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall give preference to applicants who--
            ``(1) are enrolled in an accelerated track family-medicine 
        program; or
            ``(2) elect to complete the period of employment described 
        in subsection (b)(6) at a facility of the Department that the 
        Secretary designates as having an urgent need for primary care 
        physicians.
    ``(d) Ineligibility for Other Educational Assistance.--An RDOCS-VA 
scholar shall not be eligible for other assistance under this chapter 
in connection with the education received under the RDOCS-VA program.
``Sec. 7693. Breach of agreement: liability
    ``(a) In General.--An RDOCS-VA scholar (other than a scholar 
described in subsection (b)) who fails to accept payment, or instructs 
the participating undergraduate medical program in which the scholar is 
enrolled not to accept payment, in whole or in part, of a scholarship 
under the agreement entered into under section 7692(b) of this title 
shall be liable to the United States for liquidated damages in the 
amount of $1,500. Such liability is in addition to any period of 
obligated service or other obligation or liability under the agreement.
    ``(b) Liability.--(1) An RDOCS-VA scholar shall be liable to the 
United States for the amount which has been paid to or on behalf of the 
scholar under the agreement entered into under section 7692(b) of this 
title if any of the following occurs:
            ``(A) The scholar fails to maintain an acceptable level of 
        academic standing described in paragraph (2) of such section 
        7692(b).
            ``(B) The scholar is dismissed from the participating 
        undergraduate medical program for disciplinary reasons.
            ``(C) The scholar voluntarily terminates the course of 
        training in such program before the completion of such program.
            ``(D) The scholar fails to become licensed to practice 
        medicine in the State of residence of the scholar during a 
        period of time determined under regulations prescribed by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(2) Liability under this subsection is in lieu of any service 
obligation arising under the agreement of the RDOCS-VA scholar.
    ``(c) Recovery.--(1) If an RDOCS-VA officer breaches the agreement 
by failing (for any reason) to complete the period of obligated service 
of the officer, the United States shall be entitled to recover from the 
officer an amount determined in accordance with the formula described 
in section 7617(c)(1) of this title.
    ``(2) Any amount of damages which the United States is entitled to 
recover under this section shall be paid to the United States within 
the one-year period beginning on the date of the breach of the 
agreement.
``Sec. 7694. Reports
    ``The Secretary shall annually submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
report on the physician workforce of the Department. Such report shall 
include--
            ``(1) the number of scholarships awarded under this 
        subchapter during the year covered by the report;
            ``(2) data on the physician shortage of the Department, if 
        any, disaggregated by the medical facility of the Department; 
        and
            ``(3) a gap analysis of the primary care practitioners 
        needed in each medical facility of the Department, and a five- 
        and ten-year estimates of the funding needed to close the gap 
        through the RDOCS-VA program.
``Sec. 7695. Definitions
    ``In this subchapter:
            ``(1) The term `accelerated track family-medicine program' 
        means an appropriately accredited, integrated course of study 
        in which a candidate can complete undergraduate medical 
        education and graduate medical education in six years.
            ``(2) The term `associated region' means--
                    ``(A) the area encompassing the boundaries of 
                Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho;
                    ``(B) the area encompassing the boundaries of 
                Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
                Connecticut, and Vermont;
                    ``(C) the area encompassing the boundaries of 
                Delaware and Pennsylvania; or
                    ``(D) the area encompassing the boundaries of 
                Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.
            ``(3) The term `board certification' means a certification 
        to practice medicine in a specialty, by an appropriate medical 
        specialty board.
            ``(4) The term `participating undergraduate medical 
        program' means an allopathic or osteopathic undergraduate 
        medical program operated by a State.
            ``(5) The term `primary care specialty' means geriatrics, 
        gerontology, family medicine, or general internal medicine.
            ``(6) The term `RDOCS-VA officer' means an RDOCS-VA program 
        participant who has completed undergraduate medical training, 
        but has not yet fulfilled the remaining requirements of the 
        scholarship agreement entered into under section 7692(b) of 
        this title.
            ``(7) The term `RDOCS-VA scholar' means an individual 
        participating in an RDOCS-VA program pursuant to a scholarship 
        agreement entered into under section 7692(b) of this title, but 
        has not yet completed undergraduate medical education.
            ``(8) State.--The term `State' means each of the several 
        States and the District of Columbia.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
7684 the following new items:

    ``subchapter viii--restoring the doctors of our country through 
                     scholarships--veterans affairs

``7691. Authority for program.
``7692. Scholarship program.
``7693. Breach of agreement: liability.
``7694. Reports.
``7695. Definitions.''.
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