[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3968 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3968

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide community-based 
    training opportunities for medical students in rural areas and 
       medically underserved communities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 2024

 Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Casey) 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 community-based 
    training opportunities for medical students in rural areas and 
       medically underserved communities, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Community Training, Education, and 
Access for Medical Students Act of 2024'' or the ``Community TEAMS Act 
of 2024''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY-BASED TRAINING FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS IN 
              RURAL AREAS AND MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 330A of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254c) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j) as 
        subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
    ``(h) Grants for Community-Based Training for Medical Students in 
Rural Areas and Medically Underserved Communities.--
            ``(1) Grants.--The Director may award grants to eligible 
        entities to expand the availability of community-based training 
        for medical students in rural areas and medically underserved 
        communities to facilitate long-term, sustainable physician 
        practice in high-need communities by supporting medical student 
        clinical rotations in health care facilities in such areas and 
        communities, including in outpatient settings.
            ``(2) Period of grants.--A grant under this subsection 
        shall be for a period of 1 to 5 years, as determined by the 
        Director.
            ``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
        subsection, an entity shall be a consortium of--
                    ``(A) one or more osteopathic or allopathic medical 
                schools; and
                    ``(B) one or more of the following:
                            ``(i) A rural health clinic.
                            ``(ii) A Federally qualified health center 
                        (as defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social 
                        Security Act).
                            ``(iii) A health care facility located in a 
                        medically underserved community.
            ``(4) Applications.--To seek a grant under this subsection, 
        an eligible entity, in consultation with the appropriate State 
        office of rural health or another appropriate State entity, 
        shall prepare and submit to the Director an application at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Director may require, including--
                    ``(A) a description of the project that the 
                eligible entity will carry out using the funds provided 
                through the grant;
                    ``(B) an explanation of the reasons why Federal 
                assistance is required to carry out the project;
                    ``(C) a description of the manner in which the 
                project funded through the grant will assure continuous 
                quality improvement in the provision of services by the 
                entity;
                    ``(D) a description of how the populations in the 
                rural area or medically underserved community to be 
                served through the grant will experience increased 
                access to quality health care services across the 
                continuum of care as a result of the activities carried 
                out by the entity;
                    ``(E) a plan for sustaining the project after 
                Federal support for the project has ended;
                    ``(F) a description of how the project will be 
                evaluated; and
                    ``(G) such other information as the Director 
                determines to be appropriate.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 330A of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and for the planning 
        and implementation of small health care provider quality 
        improvement activities'' and inserting ``for the planning and 
        implementation of small health care provider quality 
        improvement activities, and for expanding the availability of 
        community-based training for medical students in rural areas 
        and medically underserved communities'';
            (2) in subsection (d)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subsections 
                (e), (f), and (g)'' and inserting ``subsections (e), 
                (f), (g), and (h)'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end;
                            (ii) in clause (iii), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) expand the availability of 
                        community-based training for medical students 
                        in rural areas and medically underserved 
                        communities under subsection (h).''; and
            (3) in subsection (j), as redesignated by subsection 
        (a)(1), by striking ``subsections (e), (f), and (g)'' and 
        inserting ``subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h)''.
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