I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5223 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to States for 

the purpose of assisting the States in operating an RDOCS program 

in order to provide for the increased availability of primary health care 

services in health professional shortage areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2014 

Mr. MCDERMOTT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants 

to States for the purpose of assisting the States in 

operating an RDOCS program in order to provide for 

the increased availability of primary health care services 

in 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring the Doctors 

5 of Our Country through Scholarships Act of 2014’’ or the 

6 ‘‘RDOCS Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Due to an aging population, the retirement 

4 of a generation of physicians, and 30,000,000 newly 

5 insured under the Patient Protection and Affordable 

6 Care Act (Public Law 110–148), the United States 

7 is expected to experience an acute physician work8 force shortage in the coming decades, particularly in 

9 primary care. If unaddressed, this shortage will com10 promise the health of the population as well as the 

11 ability of the United States to remain competitive in 

12 the world. 

13 (2) By 2020, the shortage of primary care doc14 tors is expected to reach 45,000. 

15 (3) The shortage will disproportionately impact 

16 rural communities and underserved urban commu17 nities. 

18 (4) The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps 

19 (ROTC) model of education and training is a re20 spected and effective way of meeting the Nation’s 

21 need for educated and trained officers in the United 

22 States Armed Forces, and can be applied to solving 

23 the Nation’s primary care shortage. 

24 (5) There are 10 applicants for each National 

25 Health Service Corps scholarship awarded, indi26 cating the unmet demand for medical scholarships. 


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1 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO STATES FOR RESTORING THE DOCTORS 

2 OF OUR COUNTRY THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS 

3 (RDOCS) PROGRAMS. 

4 Subpart III of part D of title III of the Public Health 

5 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l et seq.) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 338N. GRANTS TO STATES FOR SCHOLARSHIP PRO8 GRAMS. 

9 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

11 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

12 and Services Administration, shall make grants to 

13 States for the purpose of assisting the States in op14 erating a program described in paragraph (2) (re15 ferred to in this section as an ‘RDOCS program’) in 

16 order to provide for the increased availability of pri17 mary health care services in health professional 

18 shortage areas. 

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant under 

20 this section, a State shall submit an application in 

21 such form, in such manner, and containing such 

22 agreements, assurances, and information as the Sec23 retary determines to be necessary to carry out this 

24 section. 

25 ‘‘(3) TOTAL NUMBER OF NEW RDOCS SCHOLARS

26 EACH YEAR.—Subject to the availability of approVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:07 Jul 31, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5223.IH H5223

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1 priations, the Secretary shall ensure that a total of 

2 at least 4,000 new RDOCS scholars are awarded 

3 scholarships under this section each academic year. 

4 ‘‘(b) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—An 

5 RDOCS program is a program of entering into contracts 

6 between the State involved and an RDOCS scholar under 

7 which— 

8 ‘‘(1) the State involved agrees— 

9 ‘‘(A) to pay all tuition and costs for the 

10 RDOCS scholar’s undergraduate medical edu11 cation, to the participating undergraduate med12 ical program, for a period of study not exceed13 ing 48 consecutive months; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to pay, during such period, a cost-of15 living stipend, in an amount to be determined 

16 by the Secretary, to the RDOCS scholar; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the RDOCS scholar agrees— 

18 ‘‘(A) to be admitted into and maintain en19 rollment in a participating undergraduate med20 ical program in the RDOCS scholar’s State of 

21 residence (or if such State of residence operates 

22 no such program, in a participating under23 graduate medical program in a State within an 

24 associated region); 


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1 ‘‘(B) when enrolled in such program, to 

2 maintain a minimum level (to be determined by 

3 the Secretary) of academic standing; 

4 ‘‘(C) to complete an accredited residency 

5 training program in a primary care specialty; 

6 ‘‘(D) to become licensed to practice medi7 cine in the applicant’s State of residence; 

8 ‘‘(E) to receive and maintain board certifi9 cation in a primary care speciality; and 

10 ‘‘(F) to complete a 5-year post-graduate 

11 period of service in a health professional short12 age area. 

13 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY IN AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS.—In se14 lecting RDOCS scholars and awarding scholarship con15 tracts described in subsection (b), the State involved shall 

16 give preference to applicants who are enrolled in— 

17 ‘‘(1) an accelerated track family-medicine pro18 gram; or 

19 ‘‘(2) a program that includes clinical training in 

20 rural or underserved urban communities. 

21 ‘‘(d) DIRECT ADMINISTRATION BY STATE AGENCY.— 

22 The RDOCS program of any State receiving a grant under 

23 this section shall be administered directly by a State agen24 cy. 

25 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any State receiving a grant 

2 under this section shall, with respect to the costs of 

3 making payments on behalf of individuals under 

4 scholarship contracts described in subsection (b), 

5 make available (directly or through donations from 

6 public or private entities) non-Federal contributions 

7 in cash toward such costs in an amount equal to not 

8 less than $1 for each $9 of Federal funds provided 

9 through the grant. 

10 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF NON11 FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—In determining the 

12 amount of non-Federal contributions in cash that a 

13 State has provided pursuant to paragraph (1)— 

14 ‘‘(A) any amounts provided to the State by 

15 the Federal Government shall not be included; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) any amounts expended by the State 

18 as administrative funds to operate its RDOCS 

19 program may, at the State’s discretion, be in20 cluded. 

21 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL PROGRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ASSIGNMENTS FOR HEALTH PROFES23 SIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS UNDER FEDERAL PRO24 GRAM.—Any State receiving a grant under this sec25 tion shall, in carrying out its RDOCS program, asVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:07 Jul 31, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5223.IH H5223

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1 sign RDOCS officers participating in the program 

2 only to public and nonprofit private entities located 

3 in and providing health services in health profes4 sional shortage areas. 

5 ‘‘(2) REMEDIES FOR BREACH OF CONTRACTS.— 

6 The Secretary may not make a grant under sub7 section (a) unless the State involved agrees that the 

8 scholarship contracts provided by the State pursuant 

9 to subsection (b) will provide remedies for any 

10 breach of the contracts by the RDOCS scholars and 

11 RDOCS officers involved. 

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION REGARDING CONTRACT IN13 DUCEMENTS.—Any State receiving a grant under 

14 this section shall ensure that contracts between the 

15 State and RDOCS scholars under this section do not 

16 include any terms more favorable to the RDOCS 

17 scholars than the most favorable terms which the 

18 Secretary is authorized to provide in contracts under 

19 the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Pro20 gram under section 338A, including terms regarding 

21 the availability of remedies for any breach of the 

22 contracts by the health professionals involved. 

23 ‘‘(g) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.—Any State 

24 receiving a grant under this section shall not expend the 

25 grant funds for any purpose other than making payments 


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1 on behalf of or to RDOCS scholars under contracts en2 tered into pursuant to this section. 

3 ‘‘(h) REPORTS BY STATES.—Any State receiving a 

4 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(1) a report on the State’s RDOCS program 

6 not later than January 10 of each fiscal year imme7 diately following any fiscal year for which the State 

8 has received such a grant; and 

9 ‘‘(2) such other reports regarding the State’s 

10 RDOCS program, as are determined to be appro11 priate by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(i) REPORTS BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall 

13 report annually to the relevant committees on the physi14 cian workforce in the United States, and shall include in 

15 each such report— 

16 ‘‘(1) data on the physician shortage, if any, 

17 disaggregated by State and region; and 

18 ‘‘(2) a gap analysis of the primary care practi19 tioners needed in each State and region, and 5- and 

20 10-year estimates of the funding needed to close the 

21 gap through the RDOCS program. 

22 ‘‘(j) NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

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

24 make payments under this section to a State for any 

25 fiscal year subsequent to the first fiscal year of such 


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1 payments unless the Secretary determines that, for 

2 the immediately preceding fiscal year, the State has 

3 complied with each of the agreements made by the 

4 State under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION IN GRANT RELATIVE TO NUM6 BER OF BREACHED CONTRACTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF

8 BREACHED CONTRACTS.—Before making a 

9 grant under this section to a State for a fiscal 

10 year, the Secretary shall determine the number 

11 of contracts provided pursuant to the State’s 

12 RDOCS program with respect to which there 

13 has been an initial breach by the RDOCS schol14 ars or officers involved during the fiscal year 

15 preceding the fiscal year for which the State is 

16 applying to receive the grant. 

17 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF GRANTS.—Subject to 

18 paragraph (3), in the case of a State with 1 or 

19 more initial breaches for purposes of subpara20 graph (A), the Secretary shall reduce the 

21 amount of a grant under this section to the 

22 State for the fiscal year involved by an amount 

23 equal to the sum of— 

24 ‘‘(i) the expenditures of Federal funds 

25 made regarding the contracts involved; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an amount representing interest 

2 on the amount of such expenditures, deter3 mined with respect to each contract on the 

4 basis of the maximum legal rate prevailing 

5 for loans made during the time amounts 

6 were paid under the contract, as deter7 mined by the Treasurer of the United 

8 States. 

9 ‘‘(3) WAIVER REGARDING REDUCTION IN

10 GRANT.—The Secretary may waive the requirement 

11 of paragraph (2)(B) with respect to the initial 

12 breach of a contract if the Secretary determines that 

13 such breach by the RDOCS scholar or officer in14 volved was attributable solely to the professional 

15 having a serious illness. 

16 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) ACCELERATED TRACK FAMILY-MEDICINE

18 PROGRAM.—The term ‘accelerated track family-med19 icine program’ refers to an appropriately accredited, 

20 integrated course of study in which a candidate can 

21 complete undergraduate medical education and grad22 uate medical education in 6 years. 

23 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATED REGION.—The term ‘associ24 ated region’ refers to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the area encompassing the boundaries 

2 of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, 

3 and Idaho; 

4 ‘‘(B) the area encompassing the bound5 aries of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 

6 Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont; 

7 ‘‘(C) the area encompassing the boundaries 

8 of Delaware and Pennsylvania; or 

9 ‘‘(D) the area encompassing the bound10 aries of Maryland, the District of Columbia, 

11 and Virginia. 

12 ‘‘(3) BOARD CERTIFICATION.—The term ‘board 

13 certification’ means a certification to practice medi14 cine in a specialty, by an appropriate medical spe15 cialty board. 

16 ‘‘(4) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE

17 AREA.—The term ‘health professional shortage area’ 

18 means a health professional shortage area des19 ignated under section 332. 

20 ‘‘(5) PARTICIPATING UNDERGRADUATE MED21 ICAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘participating under22 graduate medical program’ means an allopathic or 

23 osteopathic undergraduate medical program oper24 ated by a State. 


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1 ‘‘(6) PRIMARY CARE SPECIALTY.—The term 

2 ‘primary care specialty’ means pediatrics, geriatric, 

3 gerontology, family medicine, or general internal 

4 medicine. 

5 ‘‘(7) RDOCS OFFICER.—The term ‘RDOCS of6 ficer’ means an RDOCS program participant who 

7 has completed undergraduate medical training, but 

8 has not yet fulfilled the remaining requirements of 

9 his or her scholarship contract under subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(8) RDOCS SCHOLAR.—The term ‘RDOCS 

11 scholar’ means an individual participating in an 

12 RDOCS program pursuant to a scholarship contract 

13 under subsection (b), who has not yet completed un14 dergraduate medical education. 

15 ‘‘(9) RELEVANT COMMITTEES.—The term ‘rel16 evant committees’ means the Committee on Health, 

17 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 

18 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

19 House of Representatives. 

20 ‘‘(10) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

21 the 50 States and the District of Columbia.’’. 

Æ 


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