I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4385 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the designation 

of maternity care health professional shortage areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 3, 2014 

Mr. BURGESS (for himself and Mrs. CAPPS) 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 designation of maternity care health professional 

shortage areas. 

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

3 SECTION 1. MATERNITY CARE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL 

4 SHORTAGE AREAS. 

5 Section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 254e) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(k)(1) The Secretary, acting through the Adminis9 trator of the Health Resources and Services Administra10 tion, shall designate maternity care health professional 


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1 shortage areas in the States and at least annually there2 after review and, as necessary, revise such designations. 

3 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), and in applying 

4 subsection (b) pursuant to paragraph (4), the Secretary 

5 shall seek input from relevant provider organizations, in6 cluding medical societies, organizations representing med7 ical facilities, and other organizations with expertise in 

8 maternity care. 

9 ‘‘(3) In applying subsection (d), pursuant to para10 graph (4), the Secretary shall collect and publish in the 

11 Federal Register data on health care professional shortage 

12 areas based on professional category of maternal health 

13 professionals providing full scope maternity health care by 

14 provider type as well as geographic region. Such data shall 

15 be presented in a manner to compare availability and need 

16 of such professionals by such professional category and ge17 ographic region. 

18 ‘‘(4) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), 

19 (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) (other than (j)(1)(B)) of this sec20 tion shall apply to the designation of a maternity care 

21 health professional shortage area under this subsection in 

22 a similar manner and extent as such provisions apply to 

23 the designation of health professional shortage areas 

24 under subsection (a), except— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in applying subsection (b)(3), the ref2 erence in such subsection to ‘physicians’ shall be 

3 deemed to be a reference to physicians and other 

4 health professionals as providing maternity care eli5 gible for loan repayment under this part who provide 

6 full scope maternity care; 

7 ‘‘(B) in applying subsection (d)— 

8 ‘‘(i) the reference in paragraph (2) of such 

9 subsection to ‘July 1 of 1991’ shall be deemed 

10 to be a reference to ‘July 1 of 2016’; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the descriptive list required under 

12 such paragraph, with respect to a maternity 

13 care health professional shortage area des14 ignated under paragraph (1), shall include— 

15 ‘‘(I) population groups in the area 

16 that would benefit from full scope mater17 nity care health services; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the providers and medical facili19 ties that provide such services to such 

20 groups in such area; and 

21 ‘‘(C) in applying such provisions of subsections 

22 (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), a reference to 

23 an area, population group, or facility shall be 

24 deemed to be a reference to an area or population 

25 group described in paragraph (5). 


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1 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection: 

2 ‘‘(A) The term ‘maternity care health profes3 sional shortage area’ means— 

4 ‘‘(i) an area in an urban or rural area 

5 (which need not conform to the geographic 

6 boundaries of a political subdivision and which 

7 is a rational area for the delivery of health serv8 ices) which the Secretary determines has a 

9 shortage of providers of full scope maternity 

10 care health services; 

11 ‘‘(ii) an area in an urban or rural area 

12 (which need not conform to the geographic 

13 boundaries of a political subdivision and which 

14 is a rational area for the delivery of health serv15 ices) which the Secretary determines has a 

16 shortage of hospital or birth center labor and 

17 delivery units; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) a population group which the Sec19 retary determines has such a shortage of mater20 nal providers or facilities. 

21 ‘‘(B) The term ‘full scope maternity care health 

22 services’ includes during labor care, birthing, pre23 natal care, and postpartum care. 

24 ‘‘(C) The term ‘medical facility’ has the mean25 ing given such term in subsection (a)(2) and inVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:00 Apr 05, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4385.IH H4385

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1 cludes a freestanding birth center, as defined in sec2 tion 1905(l)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act.’’. 

Æ 


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