I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 215 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the education and 

training of allied health professionals in exchange for a service commitment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005 

Mr. STEARNS (for himself and Mr. STRICKLAND) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

the education and training of allied health professionals 

in exchange for a service commitment, 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 ‘‘Allied Health Profes5 sions Reinvestment Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 
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1 (1) The Bureau of the Census, the Institute of 

2 Medicine, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and State 

3 hospital associations highlight the increased demand 

4 for acute and chronic health care services among 

5 both the general population and a rapidly growing 

6 aging portion of the population. 

7 (2) The calls for reduction in medical errors, in8 creased patient safety, and increased quality of care 

9 have resulted in an amplified call for allied health 

10 professionals to provide health care services. 

11 (3) Several allied health professions are charac12 terized by workforce shortages, declining enrollments 

13 in allied health education programs, or a combina14 tion of both factors, and hospital officials have re15 ported vacancy rates in positions occupied by allied 

16 health professionals. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 Section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 295p) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

21 (11) as paragraphs (6) through (12), respectively; 

22 and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(5) The term ‘allied health profession’ means 

2 any profession practiced by an individual in his or 

3 her capacity as an allied health professional.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS. 

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title VII of the Public Health 

6 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating part F as part G; and 

8 (2) by adding after part E the following: 

9 ‘‘PART F—ALLIED HEALTH 

10 ‘‘SEC. 780. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and 

12 issue public service announcements that advertise and pro13 mote the allied health professions, highlight the advan14 tages and rewards of the allied health professions, and en15 courage individuals to enter the allied health professions. 

16 ‘‘(b) METHOD.—The public service announcements 

17 described in subsection (a) shall be broadcast through ap18 propriate media outlets, including television or radio, and 

19 other methods approved by the Secretary in a manner in20 tended to reach as wide and diverse an audience as pos21 sible. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 780A. STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE AN23 NOUNCEMENTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 

25 to eligible entities to support State and local advertising 
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1 campaigns through appropriate media outlets to promote 

2 the allied health professions and highlight the advantages 

3 and rewards of the allied health professions. 

4 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

5 a grant under subsection (a) shall use funds received 

6 through such grant to acquire local television and radio 

7 time, place advertisements in local newspapers, or post in8 formation on billboards or on the Internet in a manner 

9 intended to reach as wide and diverse an audience as pos10 sible, in order to— 

11 ‘‘(1) advertise and promote the allied health 

12 professions; 

13 ‘‘(2) promote allied health professions education 

14 programs; 

15 ‘‘(3) inform the public of financial assistance 

16 regarding such education programs; 

17 ‘‘(4) highlight individuals in the community who 

18 are practicing allied health professions in order to 

19 recruit new allied health professionals; or 

20 ‘‘(5) provide any other information to recruit 

21 individuals for the allied health professions. 

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—An eligible entity that receives a 

23 grant under subsection (a) shall not use funds received 

24 through such grant to advertise particular employment op25 portunities. 
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1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means an entity that is— 

3 ‘‘(1) a professional, national, or State allied 

4 health association; 

5 ‘‘(2) a State health care provider; or 

6 ‘‘(3) an association of entities that are each a 

7 health care facility, an allied health education pro8 gram, or an entity that provides similar services or 

9 serves a like function. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 780B. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry out a 

12 program of entering into contracts with eligible individuals 

13 under which such individuals agree to serve as allied 

14 health professionals for the period described in subsection 

15 (e) at a health care facility with a critical shortage of allied 

16 health professionals, in consideration of the Federal Gov17 ernment agreeing to provide to the individuals scholar18 ships for the cost of tuition at schools of allied health in 

19 allied health professions curricula. 

20 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—For purposes of this 

21 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an individual 

22 who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a full-time 

23 or part-time student in a school of allied health. 

24 ‘‘(c) SELECTION.—In awarding scholarships under 

25 this section, the Secretary shall select a range of full-time 
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1 and part-time students enrolled in a certificate, associate, 

2 bachelor’s, or graduate program. 

3 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT.—The amount of a scholarship to an 

4 eligible individual under this section may not exceed 

5 $10,000 for any academic year. 

6 ‘‘(e) SERVICE REQUIREMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

8 enter into a contract with an eligible individual 

9 under this section unless the individual agrees to 

10 serve as an allied health professional at a health 

11 care facility with a critical shortage of allied health 

12 professionals for a period of full-time service of not 

13 less than 1 year for each academic year for which 

14 the individual receives a scholarship under this sec15 tion, or for a period of part-time service in accord16 ance with paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(2) PART-TIME SERVICE.—An individual may 

18 complete the period of service described in para19 graph (1) on a part-time basis if the individual has 

20 a written agreement that— 

21 ‘‘(A) is entered into by the facility and the 

22 individual and is approved by the Secretary; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) provides that the period of obligated 

25 service will be extended so that the aggregate 
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1 amount of service performed will equal the 

2 amount of service that would be performed 

3 through a period of full-time service described 

4 in paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.—The 

6 provisions of subpart III of part D of title III shall, except 

7 as inconsistent with this section, apply to the program es8 tablished in this section in the same manner and to the 

9 same extent as such provisions apply to the National 

10 Health Service Corps Scholarship Program established in 

11 such subpart. 

12 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after the 

13 date of the enactment of this section, and annually there14 after, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Con15 gress a report describing the program carried out under 

16 this section, including statements regarding— 

17 ‘‘(1) the number of enrollees, scholarships, and 

18 grant recipients; 

19 ‘‘(2) the number of graduates; 

20 ‘‘(3) the amount of scholarship payments made; 

21 ‘‘(4) which educational institution the recipients 

22 attended; 

23 ‘‘(5) the number and placement location of the 

24 scholarship recipients at health care facilities with a 

25 critical shortage of allied health professionals; 
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1 ‘‘(6) the default rate and actions required; 

2 ‘‘(7) the amount of outstanding default funds of 

3 the scholarship program; 

4 ‘‘(8) to the extent that it can be determined, 

5 the reason for the default; 

6 ‘‘(9) the demographics of the individuals par7 ticipating in the scholarship program; and 

8 ‘‘(10) an evaluation of the overall costs and 

9 benefits of the program. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 780C. ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION, 

11 PRACTICE, AND RETENTION GRANTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) EDUCATION PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary 

13 may award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligi14 ble entities for— 

15 ‘‘(1) expanding the enrollment in allied health 

16 professions programs; 

17 ‘‘(2) developing and implementing internship 

18 and residency programs to encourage mentoring and 

19 the development of specialties and training for new 

20 or emerging public health needs; 

21 ‘‘(3) providing education in new technologies, 

22 including distance learning methodologies; or 

23 ‘‘(4) developing grant awards to colleges and 

24 universities to promote development of bachelor’s, 
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1 master’s, and doctoral degree programs for allied 

2 health professions faculty. 

3 ‘‘(b) PRACTICE PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary 

4 may award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligi5 ble entities for— 

6 ‘‘(1) establishing or expanding allied health pro7 fessions practice arrangements in noninstitutional 

8 settings to demonstrate methods to improve access 

9 to primary health care in medically underserved 

10 communities; 

11 ‘‘(2) providing care for underserved populations 

12 and other high-risk groups and individuals with 

13 chronic conditions; 

14 ‘‘(3) providing managed care, quality improve15 ment, and other skills needed to practice in existing 

16 and emerging organized health care systems; or 

17 ‘‘(4) developing cultural competencies among al18 lied health professionals. 

19 ‘‘(c) RETENTION PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary 

20 may award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligi21 ble entities to enhance the allied health professions work22 force by initiating and maintaining allied health profession 

23 retention programs— 

24 ‘‘(1) to promote career advancement for allied 

25 health professions personnel in a variety of training 
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1 settings, including cross training or specialty train2 ing among diverse population groups; or 

3 ‘‘(2) to assist individuals in obtaining education 

4 and training required to enter the allied health pro5 fessions and advance within such professions, such 

6 as by providing career counseling and mentoring. 

7 ‘‘(d) OTHER PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary may 

8 award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligible en9 tities— 

10 ‘‘(1) to study and advance the measurement of 

11 health outcomes relevant to the allied health profes12 sions; or 

13 ‘‘(2) to address other issues that are of high 

14 priority to allied health professional education, prac15 tice, and retention, as determined by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

17 Congress before the end of each fiscal year a report on 

18 the grants awarded and the contracts entered into under 

19 this section. Each such report shall identify the overall 

20 number of such grants and contracts and provide an ex21 planation of why each such grant or contract will meet 

22 the priority need of the workforce. 

23 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec24 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ includes a school of allied 
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1 health, a health care facility, or a partnership of such a 

2 school and a facility. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 780D. COMPREHENSIVE GERIATRIC EDUCATION. 

4 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

5 award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement, 

6 in coordination with programs under section 753, pro7 grams and initiatives to train and educate allied health 

8 professionals in providing geriatric care for the elderly. 

9 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

10 a grant under subsection (a) shall use funds under such 

11 grant to— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide training to allied health profes13 sionals who will provide geriatric care for the elderly; 

14 ‘‘(2) disseminate curricula relating to the treat15 ment of the health problems of elderly individuals; 

16 ‘‘(3) train allied health professions faculty 

17 members in geriatrics; or 

18 ‘‘(4) provide continuing education to allied 

19 health professionals who provide geriatric care. 

20 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a 

21 grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 

22 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con23 taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably 

24 require. 
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1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ includes a school of allied 

3 health, a health care facility, or a partnership of such a 

4 program and facility. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 780E. ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS FACULTY LOAN 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 

9 Services Administration, may enter into an agreement 

10 with any institution of higher education for the establish11 ment and operation of a student loan fund in accordance 

12 with this section, to increase the number of qualified allied 

13 health professions faculty. 

14 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS.—Each agreement entered into 

15 under this section shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) provide for the establishment of a student 

17 loan fund by the institution of higher education in18 volved; 

19 ‘‘(2) provide for deposit in the fund of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Federal capital contributions to 

21 the fund; 

22 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to not less than 

23 one-ninth of such Federal capital contributions, 

24 contributed by such institution; 
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1 ‘‘(C) collections of principal and interest 

2 on loans made from the fund; and 

3 ‘‘(D) any other earnings of the fund; 

4 ‘‘(3) provide that the fund will be used only for 

5 loans to students of the institution in accordance 

6 with subsection (c) and for costs of collection of such 

7 loans and interest thereon; 

8 ‘‘(4) provide that loans may be made from such 

9 fund only to students pursuing a full-time course of 

10 study or, at the discretion of the Secretary, a part11 time course of study in an allied health profession; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(5) contain such other provisions as are nec14 essary to protect the financial interests of the 

15 United States. 

16 ‘‘(c) LOAN PROVISIONS.—Loans from any student 

17 loan fund established by an institution of higher education 

18 pursuant to an agreement under this section shall be made 

19 to an individual on such terms and conditions as the insti20 tution may determine, except that— 

21 ‘‘(1) such terms and conditions are subject to 

22 any conditions, limitations, and requirements pre23 scribed by the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(2) in the case of any individual, the total of 

25 the loans for any academic year made by institutions 
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1 of higher education from loan funds established pur2 suant to agreements under this section may not ex3 ceed $30,000, plus any amount determined by the 

4 Secretary on an annual basis to reflect inflation; 

5 ‘‘(3) an amount up to 85 percent of any such 

6 loan (plus interest thereon) shall be canceled by the 

7 institution as follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) upon completion by the individual of 

9 each of the first, second, and third year of full10 time employment, required by the loan agree11 ment entered into under this section, as a fac12 ulty member in a school of allied health, the in13 stitution shall cancel 20 percent of the principle 

14 of, and the interest on, the amount of such loan 

15 unpaid on the first day of such employment; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) upon completion by the individual of 

18 the fourth year of full-time employment, re19 quired by the loan agreement entered into 

20 under this section, as a faculty member in a 

21 school of allied health, the institution shall can22 cel 25 percent of the principle of, and the inter23 est on, the amount of such loan unpaid on the 

24 first day of such employment; 
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1 ‘‘(4) such a loan may be used to pay the cost 

2 of tuition, fees, books, laboratory expenses, and 

3 other reasonable education expenses; 

4 ‘‘(5) such a loan shall be repayable in equal or 

5 graduated periodic installments (with the right of 

6 the borrower to accelerate repayment) over the 10- 

7 year period that begins 9 months after the individual 

8 ceases to pursue a course of study at a school of al9 lied health; and 

10 ‘‘(6) such a loan shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date that is 3 

12 months after the individual ceases to pursue a 

13 course of study at a school of allied health, bear 

14 interest on the unpaid balance of the loan at 

15 the rate of 3 percent per annum; or 

16 ‘‘(B) subject to subsection (e), if the insti17 tution determines that the individual will not 

18 complete such course of study or serve as a fac19 ulty member as required under the loan agree20 ment under this section, bear interest on the 

21 unpaid balance of the loan at the prevailing 

22 market rate. 

23 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF PROPORTIONATE SHARE.—Where 

24 all or any part of a loan, or interest, is canceled under 

25 this section, the Secretary shall pay to the institution of 
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1 higher education an amount equal to the school’s propor2 tionate share of the canceled portion, as determined by 

3 the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(e) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—At the request of the 

5 individual involved, the Secretary may review any deter6 mination by an institution of higher education under sub7 section (c)(6)(B). 

8 ‘‘(f) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish in 

9 the Federal Register the name of each institution of high10 er education participating in the allied health professions 

11 faculty loan program under this section. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 780F. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this part: 

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘health care facility’ has the 

15 meaning given to that term under section 801 and 

16 includes any health care facility of the Veterans 

17 Health Administration. 

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

19 has the meaning given to that term in section 101 

20 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

21 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

22 carry out this part, there is authorized to be appropriated 

23 $28,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. COUNCIL ON HEALTH PROFESSION EDUCATION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

3 in the Health Resources and Service Administration a 

4 council to be known as the ‘‘Council on Health Profession 

5 Education’’. 

6 (b) DUTIES.—The Council on Health Profession 

7 Education shall monitor the status of the allied health pro8 fessions workforce and make annual reports to the Con9 gress. 

10 SEC. 6. REPORTS BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE. 

11 (a) NATIONAL VARIATIONS.—Not later than 4 years 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp13 troller General of the United States shall— 

14 (1) conduct a survey to determine national vari15 ations in the allied health professions at hospitals, 

16 nursing homes, home health agencies, ambulatory 

17 rehabilitation services, and other health care pro18 viders; and 

19 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the re20 sults of such survey, including findings and rec21 ommendations on Federal remedies to ease allied 

22 health profession shortages. 

23 (b) ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS.—Not later than 4 

24 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

25 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 
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1 (1) conduct an evaluation of whether the effec2 tiveness of programs authorized under this Act, in3 cluding whether such programs have demonstrably 

4 increased the number of applicants to schools of al5 lied health; and 

6 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the re7 sults of such evaluation. 

8 SEC. 7. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

9 Subparagraph (A) of section 736(g)(1) of the Public 

10 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293(g)(1)) is amended by 

11 inserting ‘‘a school of allied health,’’ after ‘‘a school of 

12 pharmacy,’’. 

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