118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3022 

AN ACT 

To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to allow 

Indian Health Service scholarship and loan recipients 

to fulfill service obligations through half-time clinical 

practice, 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, 
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†S 3022 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘IHS Workforce Parity 

3 Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN 

5 RECIPIENTS. 

6 (a) INDIAN HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOLAR7 SHIPS.—Section 104(b)(3) of the Indian Health Care Im8 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1613a(b)(3)) is amended by 

9 striking the paragraph designation and all that follows 

10 through the end of subparagraph (A) and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3)(A) The active duty service obligation under a 

13 written contract with the Secretary under section 338A 

14 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l) that 

15 an individual has entered into under that section shall, 

16 if that individual is a recipient of an Indian Health Schol17 arship— 

18 ‘‘(i) be met by full-time (as defined in section 

19 331(j) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 254d(j))) practice— 

21 ‘‘(I) in the Service; 

22 ‘‘(II) in a program conducted under a con23 tract entered into under the Indian Self-Deter24 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 

25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 
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1 ‘‘(III) in a program assisted under title V; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(IV) in the private practice of the applica4 ble profession if, as determined by the Sec5 retary, in accordance with guidelines issued by 

6 the Secretary, the practice— 

7 ‘‘(aa) is situated in a physician or 

8 other health professional shortage area; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(bb) addresses the health care needs 

11 of a substantial number of Indians; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) be met by half-time (as defined in section 

13 331(j) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 254d(j))) practice in a program described in any of 

15 subclauses (I) through (IV) of clause (i) if the indi16 vidual agrees, in writing— 

17 ‘‘(I) to double the period of obligated serv18 ice that would otherwise be required if the indi19 vidual were satisfying the period of obligated 

20 service through full-time (as so defined) prac21 tice; and 

22 ‘‘(II) that if the individual fails to begin or 

23 complete the period of obligated service de24 scribed in subclause (I), the procedures de25 scribed in section 108(l)(2) for determining 
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1 damages for breach of contract will be used 

2 after converting that period of obligated service 

3 or service performed into its full-time equiva4 lent.’’. 

5 (b) INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE LOAN REPAYMENT

6 PROGRAM.—Section 108 of the Indian Health Care Im7 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1616a) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (f)(1)(B), by striking clause 

9 (iii) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(iii) to serve for a period of time (re11 ferred to in this section as the ‘period of 

12 obligated service’) equal to— 

13 ‘‘(I) 2 years, or a longer period 

14 of time as the individual may agree to 

15 serve, in the full-time (as defined in 

16 section 331(j) of the Public Health 

17 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254d(j))) clin18 ical practice of the profession of the 

19 individual in an Indian health pro20 gram to which the individual may be 

21 assigned by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(II) 4 years, or a longer period 

23 of time as the individual may agree to 

24 serve, in the half-time (as defined in 

25 that section) clinical practice of the 
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1 profession of the individual in an In2 dian health program to which the in3 dividual may be assigned by the Sec4 retary, subject to the condition that if 

5 the individual has agreed to serve for 

6 a period longer than 2 years of full7 time (as so defined) service, as de8 scribed in subclause (I), the half-time 

9 (as so defined) service obligation shall 

10 be the amount of time required for 

11 the individual to complete an equiva12 lent amount of service on a half-time 

13 (as so defined) basis; or 

14 ‘‘(III) 2 years in the half-time 

15 (as so defined) clinical practice of the 

16 profession of the individual in an In17 dian health program to which the in18 dividual may be assigned by the Sec19 retary with a loan payment amount 

20 equal to 50 percent of the amount 

21 that would otherwise be payable for 

22 full-time (as so defined) service for 

23 that same period of obligated service; 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(iv) in the case of an individual com2 pleting a period of obligated service 

3 through half-time (as so defined) clinical 

4 practice, that if the individual fails to 

5 begin or complete that period of obligated 

6 service, the procedures described in sub7 section (l)(2) for determining damages for 

8 breach of contract under this section will 

9 be used after converting the period of obli10 gated service or service performed into its 

11 full-time (as so defined) equivalent;’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (l)(2), in the undesignated 

13 matter following subparagraph (D), by inserting the 

14 following before ‘‘Amounts’’: ‘‘Periods of obligated 

15 service completed in half-time (as defined in section 

16 331(j) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 254d(j))) clinical practice shall be converted to their 

18 full-time (as defined in that section) equivalents for 

19 purposes of determining damages for breach of con20 tract under this paragraph.’’. 

Passed the Senate December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3022 

AN ACT 

To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement 

purposes. through half-time clinical practice, and for other and loan recipients to fulfill service obligations Act to allow Indian Health Service scholarship