I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1457 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to deem certain geriatric health 

training to be obligated service for purposes of the National Health 

Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2009 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. 

KLEIN of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to deem certain 

geriatric health training to be obligated service for purposes of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, 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 ‘‘Geriatrics Loan For5 giveness Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Between 2005 and 2030, it is estimated 

2 that the number of adults aged 65 and older will al3 most double from 37,000,000 to more than 

4 70,000,000, increasing from 12 percent of the popu5 lation of the United States to almost 20 percent of 

6 the population. 

7 (2) The number of the ‘‘oldest old,’’ those who 

8 are 85 and over, is also expected to nearly double, 

9 from 5,000,000 to 9,000,000 between 2005 and 

10 2030. 

11 (3) These ‘‘oldest old’’ adults have the highest 

12 per capita utilization of health care services, and 

13 their conditions are often complex with multiple co14 morbidities. 

15 (4) The Institute of Medicine’s 2008 report, 

16 Retooling for an Aging America: Building the 

17 Health Care Workforce, emphasized that, because of 

18 the increasing numbers of frail older adults, there is 

19 an increasing need for geriatric specialist care and 

20 for geriatric specialists to train the entire health 

21 care workforce in geriatric principles. 

22 (5) Shortages in many health care professions 

23 are apparent already in the United States. Short24 ages of geriatric specialists are even more severe, 

25 with a decline in the number of geriatricians and 


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1 geriatric psychiatrists, and inadequate numbers of 

2 geriatric social workers, nurses, psychologists, and 

3 other health care professionals with geriatric exper4 tise. 

5 (6) There are numerous barriers for health care 

6 professionals interested in entering geriatric special7 ties, including the time required for additional train8 ing and financial disincentives. 

9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS LOAN REPAY10 MENT PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 338C of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254m) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) OBLIGATED SERVICE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Loan 

16 Repayment Program under section 338B, each year 

17 during which an individual is enrolled and partici18 pating in an accredited (as determined by the Sec19 retary) educational program that provides geriatric 

20 health training shall be deemed to be a year of obli21 gated service. Upon the completion of such training, 

22 an individual with respect to whom a year of train23 ing is deemed to be a year of obligated service under 

24 this paragraph shall, after consultation with the Sec25 retary, provide geriatric health services during the 


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1 remainder of such individual’s period of obligated 

2 service. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The number of individuals 

4 for whom geriatric health training is deemed to be 

5 obligated service under this subsection shall not ex6 ceed 500 in any year.’’. 

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

8 subsection (a) shall apply only to applications submitted 

9 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services under sec10 tion 338B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 254l–1) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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