I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4985 

To establish a grant program to support schools of medicine and schools 

of osteopathic medicine in underserved areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. COSTA (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. GOMEZ, 

Ms. SEWELL, and Ms. GARCIA of Texas) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to support schools of medicine 

and schools of osteopathic medicine in underserved 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 ‘‘Expanding Medical 

5 Education Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND SCHOOLS 

2 OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE IN UNDER3 SERVED AREAS. 

4 Subpart II of part C of title VII of the Public Health 

5 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293m et seq.) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 749C. GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND 

8 SCHOOLS OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE IN UN9 DERSERVED AREAS. 

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

11 to institutions of higher education (including consortiums 

12 of such institutions) for the establishment, improvement, 

13 or expansion of a school of medicine or osteopathic medi14 cine, or a branch campus of a school of medicine or osteo15 pathic medicine. 

16 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients under 

17 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to any insti18 tution of higher education (or consortium of such institu19 tions) that— 

20 ‘‘(1) proposes to use the grant for the establish21 ment of a school of medicine or osteopathic medi22 cine, or a branch campus of a school of medicine or 

23 osteopathic medicine, in an area— 

24 ‘‘(A) in which— 

25 ‘‘(i) no other such school is based; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case in which the school of 

2 medicine or osteopathic medicine proposed 

3 to be established would be a minority-serv4 ing institution, no other minority-serving 

5 institution that includes a school of medi6 cine or osteopathic medicine is based; and 

7 ‘‘(B) that is a medically underserved com8 munity or a health professional shortage area; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(2) is a minority-serving institution described 

11 in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

12 1965 or an institution or program described in sec13 tion 326(e) of such Act. 

14 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under 

15 this section, the Secretary, to the extent practicable, may 

16 ensure equitable distribution of awards among the geo17 graphical regions of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An institution of higher edu19 cation (or a consortium of such institutions)— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall use grant amounts received under 

21 this section to— 

22 ‘‘(A) recruit, enroll, and retain medical 

23 students who are pursuing a degree of doctor of 

24 medicine or doctor of osteopathy, including in25 dividuals who are from disadvantaged backVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Aug 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4985.IH H4985

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1 grounds (including racial and ethnic groups 

2 underrepresented among medical students and 

3 health professions), individuals from rural and 

4 underserved areas, low-income individuals, and 

5 first generation college students, at a school of 

6 medicine or osteopathic medicine or branch 

7 campus of a school of medicine or osteopathic 

8 medicine; and 

9 ‘‘(B) develop, implement, and expand cur10 riculum that emphasizes care for rural and un11 derserved populations, including accessible and 

12 culturally and linguistically appropriate care 

13 and services, at such school or branch campus; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) may use grant amounts received under this 

16 section to— 

17 ‘‘(A) plan and construct— 

18 ‘‘(i) a school of medicine or osteo19 pathic medicine, or a branch campus of a 

20 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, 

21 in an area in which no other such school 

22 is based; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) a school of medicine or osteo24 pathic medicine, or a branch campus of a 

25 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, 


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1 that will be a minority-serving institution, 

2 in an area in which no other such school 

3 that is a minority-serving institution is 

4 based; 

5 ‘‘(B) plan, develop, and meet criteria for 

6 accreditation for a school of medicine or osteo7 pathic medicine or branch campus of a school 

8 of medicine or osteopathic medicine; 

9 ‘‘(C) hire faculty, including faculty from 

10 racial and ethnic groups who are underrep11 resented among the medical and other health 

12 professions, and other staff to serve at such a 

13 school or branch campus; 

14 ‘‘(D) support educational programs at such 

15 a school or branch campus; 

16 ‘‘(E) modernize and expand infrastructure 

17 at such a school or branch campus; and 

18 ‘‘(F) support other activities that the Sec19 retary determines further the establishment, 

20 improvement, or expansion of a school of medi21 cine or osteopathic medicine or branch campus 

22 of a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine. 

23 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

24 under subsection (a), an institution of higher education 

25 (or a consortium of such institutions), shall submit an apVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Aug 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4985.IH H4985

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1 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

2 and containing such information as the Secretary may re3 quire, including a description of the institution’s or con4 sortium’s planned activities described in subsection (d). 

5 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.— 

6 ‘‘(1) REPORTS FROM ENTITIES.—Each institu7 tion of higher education, or consortium of such insti8 tutions, awarded a grant under this section shall 

9 submit an annual report to the Secretary on the ac10 tivities conducted under such grant, and other infor11 mation as the Secretary may require. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 

13 years after the date of enactment of this section and 

14 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

15 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

16 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on En17 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

18 a report that provides a summary of the activities 

19 and outcomes associated with grants made under 

20 this section. Such reports shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) a list of awardees, including their pri22 mary geographic location, and location of any 

23 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or a 

24 branch campus of school of medicine or osteoVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Aug 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4985.IH H4985

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1 pathic medicine that was established, improved, 

2 or expanded under this program; 

3 ‘‘(B) the total number of students (includ4 ing the number of students from racial and eth5 nic groups underrepresented among medical 

6 students and health professions, low-income 

7 students, and first generation college students) 

8 who— 

9 ‘‘(i) are enrolled at or who have grad10 uated from any school of medicine or os11 teopathic medicine, or a branch campus of 

12 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, 

13 that was established, improved, or ex14 panded under this program, deidentified 

15 and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, 

16 sex, geographic region, disability status, 

17 and other relevant factors, to the extent 

18 such information is available; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) who subsequently participate in 

20 an accredited internship or medical resi21 dency program upon graduation from any 

22 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, 

23 or a branch campus of a school of medicine 

24 or osteopathic medicine, that was estab25 lished, improved, or expanded under this 


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1 program, deidentified and disaggregated by 

2 race, ethnicity, age, sex, geographic region, 

3 disability status, medical specialty pursued, 

4 and other relevant factors, to the extent 

5 such information is available; 

6 ‘‘(C) the effects of such program on the 

7 health care provider workforce, including any 

8 impact on demographic representation 

9 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and sex, and 

10 the fields or specialties pursued by students 

11 who have graduated from any school of medi12 cine or osteopathic medicine, or a branch cam13 pus of school of medicine or osteopathic medi14 cine, that was established, improved, or ex15 panded under this program; 

16 ‘‘(D) the effects of such program on health 

17 care access in underserved areas, including 

18 medically underserved communities and health 

19 professional shortage areas; and 

20 ‘‘(E) recommendations for improving the 

21 program described in this section, and any 

22 other considerations as the Secretary deter23 mines appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

25 shall make reports submitted under paragraph (2) 


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1 publicly available on the website of the Department 

2 of Health and Human Services. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) BRANCH CAMPUS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘branch 

6 campus’, with respect to a school of medicine or 

7 osteopathic medicine, means an additional loca8 tion of such school that is geographically apart 

9 and independent of the main campus, at which 

10 the school offers at least 50 percent of the pro11 gram leading to a degree of doctor of medicine 

12 or doctor of osteopathy that is offered at the 

13 main campus. 

14 ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENCE FROM MAIN CAM15 PUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

16 location of a school described in such subpara17 graph shall be considered to be independent of 

18 the main campus described in such subpara19 graph if the location— 

20 ‘‘(i) is permanent in nature; 

21 ‘‘(ii) offers courses in educational pro22 grams leading to a degree, certificate, or 

23 other recognized educational credential; 

24 ‘‘(iii) has its own faculty and adminis25 trative or supervisory organization; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) has its own budgetary and hiring 

2 authority. 

3 ‘‘(2) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 

4 The term ‘first generation college student’ has the 

5 meaning given such term in section 402A(h)(3) of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

7 ‘‘(3) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE

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

9 has the meaning given such term in section 332(a). 

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

11 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

12 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High13 er Education Act of 1965. 

14 ‘‘(5) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.— 

15 The term ‘medically underserved community’ has the 

16 meaning given such term in section 799B(6). 

17 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec19 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

Æ 


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