[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2443 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2443

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for investment in 
              tomorrow's pediatric health care workforce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 9, 2019

 Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for investment in 
              tomorrow's pediatric health care workforce.

    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 ``Investment in Tomorrow's Pediatric 
Health Care Workforce Act''.

SEC. 2. INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW'S PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE.

    Section 775 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295f) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 775. INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW'S PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and carry out a 
program of entering into pediatric specialty loan repayment agreements 
with qualified health professionals under which--
            ``(1) the qualified health professional agrees to a period 
        of not less than 2 years of obligated service during which the 
        professional will--
                    ``(A) participate in an accredited pediatric 
                medical subspecialty, pediatric surgical specialty, 
                child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty, or child 
                and adolescent mental and behavioral health residency 
                or fellowship; or
                    ``(B) be employed full-time in providing pediatric 
                medical subspecialty care, pediatric surgical specialty 
                care, child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty 
                care, or child and adolescent mental and behavioral 
                health care, including substance use disorder 
                prevention and treatment services, in an area with--
                            ``(i) a shortage of health care 
                        professionals practicing in the pediatric 
                        medical subspecialty, the pediatric surgical 
                        specialty, the child and adolescent psychiatry 
                        subspecialty, or child and adolescent mental 
                        and behavioral health, as applicable; and
                            ``(ii) a sufficient pediatric population, 
                        as determined by the Secretary, to support the 
                        addition of a practitioner in the pediatric 
                        medical subspecialty, the pediatric surgical 
                        specialty, the child and adolescent psychiatry 
                        subspecialty, or child and adolescent mental 
                        and behavioral health, as applicable; and
            ``(2) the Secretary agrees to make payments on the 
        principal and interest of undergraduate, graduate, or graduate 
        medical education loans of the qualified health professional of 
        not more than $35,000 a year for each year of agreed upon 
        service under paragraph (1) for a period of not more than 3 
        years.
    ``(b) Eligibility Requirements.--
            ``(1) Pediatric medical specialists and pediatric surgical 
        specialists.--For purposes of loan repayment agreements under 
        this section with respect to pediatric medical subspecialty and 
        pediatric surgical specialty practitioners, the term `qualified 
        health professional' means a licensed physician who--
                    ``(A) is entering or receiving training in an 
                accredited pediatric medical subspecialty or pediatric 
                surgical subspecialty residency or fellowship; or
                    ``(B) has completed (but not prior to the end of 
                the calendar year in which the Investment in Tomorrow's 
                Pediatric Health Care Workforce Act is enacted) the 
                training described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(2) Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental and 
        behavioral health.--For purposes of loan repayment agreements 
        under this section with respect to child and adolescent mental 
        and behavioral health care, the term `qualified health 
        professional' means a health care professional who--
                    ``(A) has received specialized training or clinical 
                experience in child and adolescent mental health in 
                psychiatry, psychology, school psychology, or 
                psychiatric nursing;
                    ``(B) has a license or certification in a State to 
                practice allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, 
                psychology, school psychology, or psychiatric nursing; 
                or
                    ``(C) is a mental health service professional who 
                has completed (but not before the end of the calendar 
                year in which the Investment in Tomorrow's Pediatric 
                Health Care Workforce Act is enacted) specialized 
                training or clinical experience in child and adolescent 
                mental health described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Additional eligibility requirements.--The Secretary 
        may not enter into a loan repayment agreement under this 
        section with a qualified health professional unless--
                    ``(A) the professional agrees to work in, or for a 
                provider serving, an area or community with a shortage 
                of eligible qualified health professionals (as defined 
                in paragraphs (1) and (2));
                    ``(B) the professional is a United States citizen, 
                a permanent legal United States resident, or lawfully 
                present in the United States; and
                    ``(C) if the professional is enrolled in a graduate 
                program, the program is accredited, and the 
                professional has an acceptable level of academic 
                standing (as determined by the Secretary).
    ``(c) Priority.--In entering into loan repayment agreements under 
this section, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants who--
            ``(1) have familiarity with evidence-based methods and 
        cultural and linguistic competence in health care services; and
            ``(2) demonstrate financial need.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024--
            ``(1) $30,000,000 to carry out this section with respect to 
        loan repayment agreements with qualified health professionals 
        described in subsection (b)(1); and
            ``(2) $20,000,000 to carry out this section with respect to 
        loan repayment agreements with respect to qualified health 
        professionals described in subsection (b)(2).''.
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