I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3944 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve education 

opportunities for physician assistants, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Ms. BASS (for herself and Mr. HASTINGS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve 

education opportunities for physician assistants, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Physician Assistant 

5 Higher Education Modernization Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASING LOAN LIMITS FOR PHYSICIAN ASSIST2 ANTS UNDER THE FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN 

3 PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455 of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(r) INCREASING LOAN LIMITS FOR PHYSICIAN AS8 SISTANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM ANNUAL LIMITS.—Notwith10 standing section 428H(d)(2)(A), the maximum an11 nual amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf12 ford Loans that a graduate student in a physician 

13 assistant education program (as defined in section 

14 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 295p)) may borrow in any academic year (as defined 

16 in section 481(a)(2)) or its equivalent shall be— 

17 ‘‘(A) $40,000 in the first academic year of 

18 such program; 

19 ‘‘(B) $40,000 in the second academic year 

20 of such program; and 

21 ‘‘(C) $15,000 in the third academic year of 

22 such program. 

23 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE LIMITS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The maximum aggre25 gate amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

26 Stafford Loans and Federal Direct Stafford 


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1 Loans that a student described in paragraph 

2 (1) of this subsection may borrow shall be equal 

3 to the maximum aggregate amount of such 

4 loans that any graduate or professional student 

5 enrolled in a program described in subpara6 graph (B) may borrow. 

7 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—A program 

8 described in this subparagraph is— 

9 ‘‘(i) a program in a school of phar10 macy, public health, allied health, or chiro11 practic medicine; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) a graduate program in health ad13 ministration or behavioral and mental 

14 health practice, including clinical psy15 chology.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 this section shall apply with respect to award years begin18 ning more than 60 days after the date of enactment of 

19 this Act. 

20 SEC. 3. MAKING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS ELIGIBLE FOR 

21 CERTAIN LOAN FORGIVENESS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 428K of the Higher Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–11) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(19) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.—The individual 

2 is a physician assistant employed full-time— 

3 ‘‘(A) as a physician assistant in a clinical 

4 setting providing primary care services; or 

5 ‘‘(B) as a member of the physician assist6 ant faculty at a physician assistant education 

7 program (as defined in section 799B of the 

8 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p)).’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(11) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT.—The term ‘phy12 sician assistant’ means an individual who— 

13 ‘‘(A) graduated from a physician assistant 

14 education program (as defined in section 799B 

15 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 295p)); 

17 ‘‘(B) is certified as a physician assistant by 

18 the National Commission on the Certification of 

19 Physician Assistants or any successor organiza20 tion; and 

21 ‘‘(C) either— 

22 ‘‘(i) holds a valid and unrestricted li23 cense to practice medicine as a physician 

24 assistant in the State in which the physiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Nov 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3944.IH H3944

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1 cian assistant practices in a clinical set2 ting; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) is qualified for licensure in the 

4 State where the individual is employed as 

5 a full-time physician assistant faculty 

6 member of a physician assistant education 

7 program (as defined in section 799B of the 

8 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 295p)).’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 

11 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2017’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply with respect to employment occur14 ring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAMS AT 

16 HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNI17 VERSITIES AND PREDOMINANTLY BLACK IN18 STITUTIONS. 

19 (a) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVER20 SITIES.—Section 723 of the Higher Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1136a) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘physician 

23 assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘physi25 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (d)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘physi3 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

5 at the end; 

6 (C) by redesignating paragraph (12) as 

7 paragraph (13); and 

8 (D) by inserting after paragraph (11) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(12) in the case of a grant for a physician as11 sistant education program (as defined in section 

12 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 295p))— 

14 ‘‘(A) creating or improving facilities for 

15 Internet or other distance education tech16 nologies, including purchase or rental of tele17 communications technology equipment or serv18 ices; and 

19 ‘‘(B) collaborating with other institutions 

20 of higher education to expand postbaccalaureate 

21 degree offerings; and’’. 

22 (b) PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS.—Sec23 tion 724 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1136b) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘physician 

2 assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘physi4 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (d)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘physi7 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraph (12) as 

9 paragraph (13); and 

10 (C) by inserting after paragraph (11) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(12) in the case of a grant for a physician as13 sistant education program (as defined in section 

14 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 295p))— 

16 ‘‘(A) creating or improving facilities for 

17 Internet or other distance education tech18 nologies, including purchase or rental of tele19 communications technology equipment or serv20 ices; and 

21 ‘‘(B) collaborating with other institutions 

22 of higher education to expand postbaccalaureate 

23 degree offerings; and’’. 

24 (c) EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA25 TIONS.—Subsections (a) and (b) of section 725 of the 


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1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1136c) are each 

2 amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘fis3 cal year 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 5. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT POSTBACCALAUREATE OP5 PORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 514 of the Higher Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1102c) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDU10 CATION PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall give preference 

11 to an application by an eligible institution for a grant 

12 under this part that demonstrates that the grant funds 

13 awarded under this part will be used to support physician 

14 assistant education programs (as defined in section 799B 

15 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p)).’’. 

16 (b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA17 TIONS.—Section 528(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1103g(a)(2)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘$100,000,000 for fiscal year 

20 2009 and’’; and 

21 (2) by inserting after ‘‘such sums as may be 

22 necessary for’’ the following: ‘‘fiscal year 2017 and’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. GRANTS TO RURAL-SERVING INSTITUTIONS OF 

2 HIGHER EDUCATION FOR PHYSICIAN ASSIST3 ANT EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

4 Part Q of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161q) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 861(b), by striking ‘‘For the pur7 poses of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘For the pur8 poses of this part’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting after section 861 the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 862. GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND 

11 EXPANSION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDU12 CATION PROGRAMS AT RURAL-SERVING IN13 STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

16 to award grants on a competitive basis to a rural17 serving institution of higher education or a consor18 tium of such institutions— 

19 ‘‘(A) to increase, for students from rural 

20 areas, enrollment and graduation rates for 

21 postbaccalaureate physician assistant education 

22 programs; 

23 ‘‘(B) to train physician assistants in rural 

24 areas through the development of new physician 

25 assistant education programs and the expansion 


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1 of existing physician assistant education pro2 grams in rural areas; and 

3 ‘‘(C) to promote economic growth and de4 velopment in rural America through partnership 

5 grants to regional employers and to consortia of 

6 rural-serving institutions of higher education. 

7 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

8 section shall be awarded for a period of not longer 

9 than 3 years. 

10 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—A rural-serving institution 

11 of higher education or a consortium of such institu12 tions shall not receive more than one grant under 

13 this section. 

14 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each rural-serving institu16 tion of higher education or consortium of such insti17 tutions desiring a grant under this section shall sub18 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

19 such manner, and containing such information as 

20 the Secretary may require. 

21 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

22 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica23 tions that demonstrate the most potential and pro24 pose the most promising and innovative approaches 

25 for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) creating new physician assistant edu2 cation programs in rural areas; 

3 ‘‘(B) increasing the number of physician 

4 assistants that practice medicine in rural areas; 

5 ‘‘(C) meeting the employment needs of re6 gional employers of physician assistants with 

7 graduates of physician assistant education pro8 grams at rural-serving institutions of higher 

9 education; and 

10 ‘‘(D) improving the health of Americans 

11 residing in rural areas. 

12 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A rural-serving institution 

14 of higher education or consortium of such institu15 tions that receives a grant under this section shall 

16 use grant funds for the establishment and expansion 

17 of physician assistant education programs in rural 

18 areas. 

19 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIP.—A rural-serving institu20 tion of higher education or a consortium of such in21 stitutions that receives a grant under this section 

22 shall carry out the activities of the grant in partner23 ship with— 

24 ‘‘(A) one or more regional employers that 

25 employ physician assistants; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization with dem2 onstrated expertise in physician assistant edu3 cation at the postbaccalaureate level; or 

4 ‘‘(C) an organization with expertise in de5 livering distance education at the 

6 postbaccalaureate level that is authorized to 

7 offer courses for academic credit. 

8 ‘‘(d) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PRO9 GRAM.—In this section, the term ‘physician assistant edu10 cation program’ has the meaning given to such term in 

11 section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 295p). 

13 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2017 and 

16 each of the five succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. IMPROVING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION 

18 PROGRAMS. 

19 Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is 

20 amended by inserting after section 898 (20 U.S.C. 

21 1161aa–1) the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART BB—PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION 

2 ENHANCEMENT 

3 ‘‘SEC. 899. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PHYSI4 CIAN ASSISTANT FACULTY PREPARATION. 

5 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

7 grants to not more than 10 institutions of higher 

8 education to develop, expand, and support graduate9 level programs to prepare certified physician assist10 ants to become physician assistant faculty members 

11 in accredited graduate-level physician assistant edu12 cation programs through collaboration between such 

13 a program and an institution of higher education 

14 that awards a graduate degree in education. 

15 ‘‘(2) CAP.—No institution of higher education 

16 may receive more than an aggregate of $600,000 

17 under this section during fiscal years 2017, 2018, 

18 and 2019. 

19 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher 

21 education desiring a grant under this section shall 

22 submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such 

23 manner as the Secretary may require, an application 

24 including— 

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1 uate-level programs to prepare certified physi2 cian assistants to become physician assistant 

3 faculty members in accredited graduate-level 

4 physician assistant education programs; and 

5 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the number of stu6 dents who will be affected by such collaboration. 

7 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri8 ority to applications that demonstrate the potential 

9 to maximize quality instruction through the use of 

10 technology. 

11 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

12 date of the first grant under this section, the Secretary 

13 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

14 ‘‘(1) describes the steps taken to implement this 

15 section; and 

16 ‘‘(2) lists all recipients of grants under this sec17 tion as of the date of such submission. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

20 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

21 meaning given such term in section 101. 

22 ‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PRO23 GRAM.—The term ‘physician assistant education 

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1 tion 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 295p). 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

5 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2017 

6 through 2019. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 899A. GRANTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECH8 NOLOGY IN PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDU9 CATION PROGRAMS. 

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

12 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to not more 

13 than 20 eligible recipients to enhance physician as14 sistant education programs and improve patient 

15 safety by supporting the purchase of infrastructure 

16 and technology, including human patient simulators, 

17 for such programs. 

18 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

19 section shall be awarded for a period of not longer 

20 than five years. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible recipient may 

23 apply for a grant under this section by submitting 

24 an application to the Secretary at such time and in 

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1 onstrates how the grant funds will be used to im2 prove physician assistant education programs and 

3 patient safety with respect to such programs. 

4 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

5 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica6 tions that demonstrate the potential to— 

7 ‘‘(A) increase the number of physician as8 sistant graduates; 

9 ‘‘(B) maximize the accessibility of human 

10 patient simulators for physician assistant edu11 cation programs through partnerships between 

12 the grant recipient and other institutions of 

13 higher education; or 

14 ‘‘(C) improve the health of the community 

15 and region where the physician assistant edu16 cation program is located. 

17 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible recipient that re18 ceives a grant awarded under this section may use the 

19 grant for one or more of the following purposes: 

20 ‘‘(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or 

21 laboratory equipment, including human patient sim22 ulators and machines, for educational purposes, in23 cluding instructional and research purposes. 

24 ‘‘(2) Construction, maintenance and renovation, 

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1 tories, and other instructional facilities, including 

2 purchase or rental of telecommunications technology 

3 equipment or services. 

4 ‘‘(3) Supporting faculty training in the use of 

5 the human patient simulator equipment. 

6 ‘‘(4) Other activities proposed in the application 

7 submitted pursuant to subsection (b) that— 

8 ‘‘(A) contribute to carrying out the pur9 poses of this section; and 

10 ‘‘(B) are approved by the Secretary as part 

11 of the review and acceptance of such applica12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PRO15 GRAM.—The term ‘physician assistant education 

16 program’ has the meaning given such term in sec17 tion 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 295p). 

19 ‘‘(2) HUMAN PATIENT SIMULATOR.—The term 

20 ‘human patient simulator’ means a computerized 

21 mannequin that is anatomically precise and responds 

22 physiologically to student interventions. 

23 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘eligible 

24 recipient’ means a physician assistant education pro25 gram accredited by the Accreditation Review ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Nov 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3944.IH H3944

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1 mission on Education for the Physician Assistant, 

2 Inc. (or a successor organization), located in a State 

3 or territory. 

4 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2017 and 

7 each of the five succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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