I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1603 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve education 

opportunities for physician assistants, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2017 

Ms. BASS 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 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASING ANNUAL LOAN LIMITS FOR PHYSICIAN 

2 ASSISTANT STUDENTS UNDER THE FEDERAL 

3 DIRECT LOAN 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 ANNUAL LOAN LIMITS FOR PHYSI8 CIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS.—Notwithstanding section 

9 428H(d)(2)(A), the maximum annual amount of Federal 

10 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans that a graduate stu11 dent in a physician assistant education program (as de12 fined in section 799B of the Public Health Service Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 295p)) may borrow in any academic year (as 

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

15 ‘‘(1) $40,000 in the first academic year of such 

16 program; 

17 ‘‘(2) $40,000 in the second academic year of 

18 such program; and 

19 ‘‘(3) $15,000 in the third academic year of such 

20 program.’’. 

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

22 this section shall apply with respect to award years begin23 ning more 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. MAKING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS ELIGIBLE FOR IN2 CENTIVES WHEN SERVING AS PRIMARY CARE 

3 PROVIDERS OR FACULTY MEMBERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 428K of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–11) is amended— 

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

7 following: 

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

9 is a physician assistant employed full-time— 

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

11 setting providing primary care services; or 

12 ‘‘(B) as a member of the physician assist13 ant faculty at a physician assistant education 

14 program (as defined in section 799B of the 

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

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

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(11) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT.—The term ‘phy19 sician assistant’ means an individual who— 

20 ‘‘(A) graduated from a physician assistant 

21 education program (as defined in section 799B 

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

23 295p)); 

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

25 the National Commission on the Certification of 


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1 Physician Assistants or any successor organiza2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(C) either— 

4 ‘‘(i) holds a valid and unrestricted li5 cense to practice medicine as a physician 

6 assistant in the State in which the physi7 cian assistant practices in a clinical set8 ting; or 

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

10 State where the individual is employed as 

11 a full-time physician assistant faculty 

12 member of a physician assistant education 

13 program (as defined in section 799B of the 

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

15 295p)).’’; and 

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

17 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2018’’. 

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

19 this section shall apply with respect to employment occur20 ring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAMS AT 

2 HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNI3 VERSITIES AND PREDOMINANTLY BLACK IN4 STITUTIONS. 

5 (a) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVER6 SITIES.—Section 723 of the Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1136a) is amended— 

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

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

10 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘physi11 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘physi14 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; 

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

16 at the end; 

17 (C) by redesignating paragraph (12) as 

18 paragraph (13); and 

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

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(12) in the case of a grant for a physician as22 sistant education program (as defined in section 

23 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 295p))— 

25 ‘‘(A) creating or improving facilities for 

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1 nologies, including purchase or rental of tele2 communications technology equipment or serv3 ices; and 

4 ‘‘(B) collaborating with other institutions 

5 of higher education to expand postbaccalaureate 

6 degree offerings; and’’. 

7 (b) PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS.—Sec8 tion 724 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1136b) is amended— 

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

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

12 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘physi13 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (d)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘physi16 cian assistant studies,’’ after ‘‘allied health,’’; 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraph (12) as 

18 paragraph (13); and 

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

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(12) in the case of a grant for a physician as22 sistant education program (as defined in section 

23 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 295p))— 


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1 ‘‘(A) creating or improving facilities for 

2 Internet or other distance education tech3 nologies, including purchase or rental of tele4 communications technology equipment or serv5 ices; and 

6 ‘‘(B) collaborating with other institutions 

7 of higher education to expand postbaccalaureate 

8 degree offerings; and’’. 

9 (c) EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA10 TIONS.—Subsections (a) and (b) of section 725 of the 

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

12 amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘fis13 cal year 2018’’. 

14 SEC. 5. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT POSTBACCALAUREATE OP15 PORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 514 of the Higher Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1102c) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDU20 CATION PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall give preference 

21 to an application by an eligible institution for a grant 

22 under this part that demonstrates that the grant funds 

23 awarded under this part will be used to support physician 

24 assistant education programs (as defined in section 799B 

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


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1 (b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—Section 528(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act 

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

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

5 2009 and’’; and 

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

7 necessary for’’ the following: ‘‘fiscal year 2018 and’’. 

8 SEC. 6. GRANTS TO RURAL SERVING INSTITUTIONS OF 

9 HIGHER EDUCATION FOR PHYSICIAN ASSIST10 ANT EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

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

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161q) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 861(b), by striking ‘‘For the pur14 poses of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘For the pur15 poses of this part’’; and 

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

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

18 EXPANSION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDU19 CATION PROGRAMS AT RURAL-SERVING IN20 STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

21 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

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

23 to award grants on a competitive basis to a rural24 serving institution of higher education or a consor25 tium of such institutions— 


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

2 areas, enrollment and graduation rates for 

3 postbaccalaureate physician assistant education 

4 programs; and 

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

6 areas through the development of new physician 

7 assistant education programs and the expansion 

8 of existing physician assistant education pro9 grams in rural areas. 

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

11 section shall be awarded for a period of not longer 

12 than 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A rural-serving institution 

14 of higher education or a consortium of such institu15 tions shall not receive more than one grant under 

16 this section. 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each rural-serving institu19 tion of higher education or consortium of such insti20 tutions desiring a grant under this section shall sub21 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

22 such manner, and containing such information as 

23 the Secretary may require. 

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

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1 tions that demonstrate the most potential and pro2 pose the most promising and innovative approaches 

3 for— 

4 ‘‘(A) creating new physician assistant edu5 cation programs in rural areas; 

6 ‘‘(B) increasing the number of physician 

7 assistants that practice medicine in rural areas; 

8 ‘‘(C) meeting the employment needs of re9 gional employers of physician assistants with 

10 graduates of physician assistant education pro11 grams at rural-serving institutions of higher 

12 education; and 

13 ‘‘(D) improving the health of Americans 

14 residing in rural areas. 

15 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A rural-serving institution of 

16 higher education or consortium of such institutions that 

17 receives a grant under this section shall use grant funds 

18 for the establishment and expansion of physician assistant 

19 education programs in rural areas. 

20 ‘‘(d) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PRO21 GRAM.—In this section, the term ‘physician assistant edu22 cation program’ has the meaning given to such term in 

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

24 295p). 


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

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018 and 

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

5 SEC. 7. IMPROVING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION 

6 PROGRAMS. 

7 Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is 

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

9 1161aa–1) the following: 

10 ‘‘PART BB—PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION 

11 ENHANCEMENT 

12 ‘‘SEC. 899. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PHYSI13 CIAN ASSISTANT FACULTY PREPARATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

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

16 grants to not more than 10 institutions of higher 

17 education to develop, expand, and support graduate18 level programs to prepare certified physician assist19 ants to become physician assistant faculty members 

20 in accredited graduate-level physician assistant edu21 cation programs through collaboration between such 

22 a program and an institution of higher education 

23 that awards a graduate degree in education. 

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

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


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1 under this section during fiscal years 2018, 2019, 

2 and 2020. 

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

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

5 education desiring a grant under this section shall 

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

7 manner as the Secretary may require, an application 

8 including— 

9 ‘‘(A) a description of the intended collabo10 ration to develop, expand, and support grad11 uate-level programs to prepare certified physi12 cian assistants to become physician assistant 

13 faculty members in accredited graduate-level 

14 physician assistant education programs; and 

15 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the number of stu16 dents who will be affected by such collaboration. 

17 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri18 ority to applications that demonstrate the potential 

19 to maximize quality instruction through the use of 

20 technology. 

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

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

23 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

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

25 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) lists all recipients of grants under this sec2 tion as of the date of such submission. 

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

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

5 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

6 meaning given such term in section 101. 

7 ‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PRO8 GRAM.—The term ‘physician assistant education 

9 program’ has the meaning given such term in sec10 tion 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 295p). 

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

13 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

14 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2018 

15 through 2020. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 899A. GRANTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECH17 NOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICIAN AS18 SISTANT EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

19 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 

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

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

22 than 20 physician assistant education programs to 

23 enhance physician assistant education programs and 

24 improve patient safety by supporting the purchase of 

25 new infrastructure and technology. 


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

2 section shall be awarded for a period of not longer 

3 than five years. 

4 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A physician assistant edu6 cation program may apply for a grant under this 

7 section by submitting an application to the Secretary 

8 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

9 may require that demonstrates how the grant funds 

10 will be used to improve physician assistant education 

11 programs and patient safety with respect to such 

12 programs. 

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

14 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica15 tions that demonstrate the potential to— 

16 ‘‘(A) increase the number of physician as17 sistant graduates; and 

18 ‘‘(B) maximize accessibility to new and 

19 emerging technologies, including human patient 

20 simulators for physician assistant education 

21 programs, through partnerships between the 

22 grant recipient and other institutions of higher 

23 education. 

24 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A physician assistant edu25 cation program that receives a grant awarded under this 


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1 section may use the grant for one or more of the following 

2 purposes: 

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

4 medical or laboratory equipment, including human 

5 patient simulators and other new and emerging tech6 nologies, for education purposes, including instruc7 tional and research purposes. 

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

9 and improvement of classrooms, libraries, labora10 tories, and other instructional facilities, including 

11 purchase or rental of telecommunications technology 

12 equipment or services. 

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

14 new and emerging technologies, including human pa15 tient simulators. 

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

17 submitted pursuant to subsection (b) that— 

18 ‘‘(A) contribute to carrying out the pur19 poses of this section; and 

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

21 of the review and acceptance of such applica22 tion. 

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

24 ‘‘(1) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PRO25 GRAM.—The term ‘physician assistant education 


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1 program’ has the meaning given such term in sec2 tion 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 295p). 

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

5 ‘human patient simulator’ means a computerized de6 vice that is anatomically precise and responds phys7 iologically to interventions. 

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

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018 and 

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

Æ 


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