II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2766

To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize 

the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower 

prices for medicare prescription drugs and to eliminate the gap in coverage of medicare prescription drug benefits, to reduce medical errors 

and increase the use of medical technology, to increase services in primary and preventive care by nonphysician providers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2004

Mr. SPECTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL

To amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security 

Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services to negotiate for lower prices for medicare prescription drugs and to eliminate the gap in coverage 

of medicare prescription drug benefits, to reduce medical 

errors and increase the use of medical technology, to 

increase services in primary and preventive care by nonphysician providers, 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,
2

•S 2766 IS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prescription Drug and 

3 Health Improvement Act of 2004’’. 

4 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS 

5 UNDER MEDICARE PRESCRIP6 TION DRUG PROGRAM 

7 SEC. 101. NEGOTIATING FAIR PRICES FOR MEDICARE PRE8 SCRIPTION DRUGS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1860D–11 of the Social 

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–111) is amended by strik11 ing subsection (i) (relating to noninterference) and by in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY TO NEGOTIATE PRICES WITH MAN14 UFACTURERS.—In order to ensure that beneficiaries en15 rolled under prescription drug plans and MA–PD plans 

16 pay the lowest possible price, the Secretary shall have au17 thority similar to that of other Federal entities that pur18 chase prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts 

19 with manufacturers of covered part D drugs, consistent 

20 with the requirements and in furtherance of the goals of 

21 providing quality care and containing costs under this 

22 part.’’. 

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

24 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact25 ment of section 101 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, 
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•S 2766 IS 

1 Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 

2 108–173; 117 Stat. 2066). 

3 (c) HHS REPORTS COMPARING NEGOTIATED PRE4 SCRIPTION DRUG PRICES AND RETAIL PRESCRIPTION

5 DRUG PRICES.—Beginning in 2006, the Secretary of 

6 Health and Human Services shall regularly, but in no case 

7 less often than quarterly, submit to Congress a report that 

8 compares the prices for covered part D drugs (as defined 

9 in section 1860D–2(e) of the Social Security Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 1395w–102(e)) negotiated by the Secretary pursu11 ant to section 1860D–11(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1395w–111(i)), as amended by subsection (a), with the 

13 average price a retail pharmacy would charge an indi14 vidual who does not have health insurance coverage for 

15 purchasing the same strength, quantity, and dosage form 

16 of such covered part D drug. 

17 SEC. 102. ELIMINATION OF GAP IN COVERAGE OF MEDI18 CARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1860D–2(b) of the Social 

20 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–102(b)) is amended by 

21 striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) Repealed.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

24 (1) Section 1860D–2 of the Social Security Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 1395w–102) is amended—
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1 (A) in subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)(I), by strik2 ing ‘‘, or an increase in the initial coverage 

3 limit with respect to covered part D drugs’’; 

4 (B) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by striking 

5 ‘‘and up to the initial coverage limit under 

6 paragraph (3)’’; 

7 (C) in subsection (b)(4)(C)(i)—

8 (i) by striking the comma after ‘‘para9 graph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘, and for amounts for 

11 which benefits are not provided because of 

12 the application of the initial coverage limit 

13 described in paragraph (3)’’; 

14 (D) in subsection (c)(1), by striking sub15 paragraph (C); and 

16 (E) in subsection (d)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘or 

17 an initial coverage limit (described in subsection 

18 (b)(3))’’. 

19 (2) Section 1860D–4(a)(4)(B) of the Social Se20 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–104(a)(4)(B)) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(B) when prescription drug benefits are 

23 provided under this part, a notice of the bene24 fits in relation to the annual out-of-pocket 

25 threshold for the current year.’’. 
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1 (3)(A) Section 1860D–14(a) of the Social Secu2 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114(a)) is amended—

3 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara4 graph (C) and redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

5 and (E) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec6 tively; 

7 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara8 graph (C) and redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

9 and (E) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec10 tively; and 

11 (iii) in paragraph (4)(A) in the matter pre12 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

13 (1)(D)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

14 (1)(C)(ii)’’. 

15 (B) Section 1860D–14(c)(1) of the Social Secu16 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114(c)(1)) is amended in 

17 the second sentence by striking ‘‘subsections 

18 (a)(1)(D) and (a)(2)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections 

19 (a)(1)(C) and (a)(2)(D)’’. 

20 (C) Section 1860D–15(e)(1)(B) of the Social 

21 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–115(e)(1)(B)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1)(D) and 

23 (2)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1)(C) and 

24 (2)(D)’’.
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•S 2766 IS 

1 (4)(A) Section 1860D–41(a)(6) of the Social 

2 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–151(a)(6)) is 

3 amended by striking paragraph (6) and redesig4 nating paragraphs (7) through (18) as paragraphs 

5 (6) through (17), respectively. 

6 (B) Section 1860D–1(a)(1)(A) of the Social Se7 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–101(a)(1)(A)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘1860D–41(a)(14)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘1860D–41(a)(13)’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact12 ment of section 101 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, 

13 Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 

14 108–173; 117 Stat. 2066). 

15 TITLE II—REDUCING MEDICAL 

16 ERRORS AND INCREASING 

17 THE USE OF MEDICAL TECH18 NOLOGY 

19 SEC. 201. MEDICAL ERRORS REDUCTION. 

20 Title IX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 299 et seq.) is amended—

22 (1) by redesignating part C as part D; 

23 (2) by redesignating sections 921 through 928, 

24 as sections 931 through 938, respectively; 
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1 (3) in section 938(1) (as so redesignated), by 

2 striking ‘‘921’’ and inserting ‘‘931’’; and 

3 (4) by inserting after part B the following: 

4 ‘‘PART C—REDUCING ERRORS IN HEALTH CARE 

5 ‘‘SEC. 921. DEFINITIONS. 

6 ‘‘In this part: 

7 ‘‘(1) ADVERSE EVENT.—The term ‘adverse 

8 event’ means an injury resulting from medical man9 agement rather than the underlying condition of the 

10 patient. 

11 ‘‘(2) ERROR.—The term ‘error’ means the fail12 ure of a planned action to be completed as intended 

13 or the use of a wrong plan to achieve the desired 

14 outcome.

15 ‘‘(3) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

16 ‘health care provider’ means an individual or entity 

17 that provides medical services and is a participant in 

18 a demonstration program under this part. 

19 ‘‘(4) HEALTH CARE-RELATED ERROR.—The 

20 term ‘health care-related error’ means a preventable 

21 adverse event related to a health care intervention or 

22 a failure to intervene appropriately. 

23 ‘‘(5) MEDICATION-RELATED ERROR.—The term 

24 ‘medication-related error’ means a preventable ad-
8

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1 verse event related to the administration of a medi2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(6) SAFETY.—The term ‘safety’ with respect 

4 to an individual means that such individual has a 

5 right to be free from preventable serious injury. 

6 ‘‘(7) SENTINEL EVENT.—The term ‘sentinel 

7 event’ means an unexpected occurrence involving an 

8 individual that results in death or serious physical 

9 injury that is unrelated to the natural course of the 

10 individual’s illness or underlying condition. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 922. ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE-BASED MEDICAL 

12 ERROR REPORTING SYSTEMS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

14 available to States to enable such States to establish re15 porting systems designed to reduce medical errors and im16 prove health care quality. 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

19 grant under subsection (a), the State involved shall 

20 provide assurances to the Secretary that amounts re21 ceived under the grant will be used to establish and 

22 implement a medical error reporting system using 

23 guidelines (including guidelines relating to the con24 fidentiality of the reporting system) developed by the 

25 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality with 
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1 input from interested, non-governmental parties in2 cluding patient, consumer and health care provider 

3 groups. 

4 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this part, the Agency 

6 for Healthcare Research and Quality shall develop 

7 and publish the guidelines described in paragraph 

8 (1). 

9 ‘‘(c) DATA.—

10 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—A State that receives a 

11 grant under subsection (a) shall make the data pro12 vided to the medical error reporting system involved 

13 available only to the Agency for Healthcare Research 

14 and Quality and may not otherwise disclose such in15 formation. 

16 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Nothing in this part 

17 shall be construed to supersede any State law that 

18 is inconsistent with this part. 

19 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 

20 this section, a State shall prepare and submit to the Sec21 retary an application at such time, in such manner and 

22 containing, such information as the Secretary shall re23 quire. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 923. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO REDUCE MED2 ICAL ERRORS, IMPROVE PATIENT SAFETY, 

3 AND EVALUATE REPORTING. 

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

5 through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Re6 search and Quality and in conjunction with the Adminis7 trator of the Health Care Financing Administration, may 

8 establish a program under which funding will be provided 

9 for not less than 15 demonstration projects, to be competi10 tively awarded, in health care facilities and organizations 

11 in geographically diverse locations, including rural and 

12 urban areas (as determined by the Secretary), to deter13 mine the causes of medical errors and to—

14 ‘‘(1) use technology, staff training, and other 

15 methods to reduce such errors; 

16 ‘‘(2) develop replicable models that minimize 

17 the frequency and severity of medical errors; 

18 ‘‘(3) develop mechanisms that encourage report19 ing, prompt review, and corrective action with re20 spect to medical errors; and 

21 ‘‘(4) develop methods to minimize any addi22 tional paperwork burden on health care profes23 sionals. 

24 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A health care provider par2 ticipating in a demonstration project under sub3 section (a) shall—

4 ‘‘(A) utilize all available and appropriate 

5 technologies to reduce the probability of future 

6 medical errors; and 

7 ‘‘(B) carry out other activities consistent 

8 with subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORTING TO PATIENTS.—In carrying 

10 out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that—

11 ‘‘(A) 5 of the demonstration projects per12 mit the voluntary reporting by participating 

13 health care providers of any adverse events, 

14 sentinel events, health care-related errors, or 

15 medication-related errors to the Secretary; 

16 ‘‘(B) 5 of the demonstration projects re17 quire participating health care providers to re18 port any adverse events, sentinel events, health 

19 care-related errors, or medication-related errors 

20 to the Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(C) 5 of the demonstration projects re22 quire participating health care providers to re23 port any adverse events, sentinel events, health 

24 care-related errors, or medication-related errors
12

•S 2766 IS 

1 to the Secretary and to the patient involved and 

2 a family member or guardian of the patient. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the 

5 participating grantee organization shall ensure 

6 that information reported under this section re7 mains confidential. 

8 ‘‘(B) USE.—The Secretary may use the in9 formation reported under this section only for 

10 the purpose of evaluating the ability to reduce 

11 errors in the delivery of care. Such information 

12 shall not be used for enforcement purposes. 

13 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary may 

14 not disclose the information reported under this 

15 section.

16 ‘‘(D) NONADMISSIBILITY.—Information re17 ported under this section shall be privileged, 

18 confidential, shall not be admissible as evidence 

19 or discoverable in any civil or criminal action or 

20 proceeding or subject to disclosure, and shall 

21 not be subject to the Freedom of Information 

22 Act (5 U.S.C. App). This paragraph shall apply 

23 to all information maintained by the reporting 

24 entity and the entities who receive such reports. 
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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF TECHNOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall 

2 encourage, as part of the demonstration projects con3 ducted under subsection (a), the use of appropriate tech4 nologies to reduce medical errors, such as hand-held elec5 tronic prescription pads, training simulators for medical 

6 education, and bar-coding of prescription drugs and pa7 tient bracelets. 

8 ‘‘(d) DATABASE.—The Secretary shall provide for the 

9 establishment and operation of a national database of 

10 medical errors to be used as provided for by the Secretary. 

11 The information provided to the Secretary under sub12 section (b)(2) shall be contained in the database. 

13 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evaluate the 

14 progress of each demonstration project established under 

15 this section in reducing the incidence of medical errors and 

16 submit the results of such evaluations as part of the re17 ports under section 926(b). 

18 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.—Prior to October 1, of the third 

19 fiscal year for which funds are made available under this 

20 section, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the ap21 propriate committees of Congress an interim report con22 cerning the results of such demonstration projects. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 924. PATIENT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide in25 formation to educate patients and family members about 
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•S 2766 IS 

1 their role in reducing medical errors. Such information 

2 shall be provided to all individuals who participate in Fed3 erally-funded health care programs. 

4 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

5 shall develop programs that encourage patients to take a 

6 more active role in their medical treatment, including en7 couraging patients to provide information to health care 

8 providers concerning pre-existing conditions and medica9 tions. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 925. PRIVATE, NONPROFIT EFFORTS TO REDUCE 

11 MEDICAL ERRORS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

13 to health professional associations and other organizations 

14 to provide training in ways to reduce medical errors, in15 cluding curriculum development, technology training, and 

16 continuing medical education. 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 

18 this section, an entity shall prepare and submit to the Sec19 retary an application at such time, in such manner and 

20 containing, such information as the Secretary shall re21 quire. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 926. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

23 ‘‘(a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this part, the Secretary 

25 shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees 
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•S 2766 IS 

1 of Congress a report concerning the costs associated with 

2 implementing a program that identifies factors that con3 tribute to errors and which includes upgrading the health 

4 care computer systems and other technologies in the 

5 United States in order to reduce medical errors, including 

6 computerizing hospital systems for the coordination of 

7 prescription drugs and handling of laboratory specimens, 

8 and contains recommendations on ways in which to reduce 

9 those factors. 

10 ‘‘(b) OTHER REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the completion of all demonstration projects under 

12 section 923, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the 

13 appropriate committees of Congress a report concerning—

14 ‘‘(1) how successful each demonstration project 

15 was in reducing medical errors; 

16 ‘‘(2) the data submitted by States under section 

17 922(c); 

18 ‘‘(3) the best methods for reducing medical er19 rors; 

20 ‘‘(4) the costs associated with applying such 

21 best methods on a nationwide basis; and 

22 ‘‘(5) the manner in which other Federal agen23 cies can share information on best practices in order 

24 to reduce medical errors in all Federal health care 

25 programs.
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•S 2766 IS 

1 ‘‘SEC. 927. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this part.’’. 

4 SEC. 202. ENHANCING INVESTMENT IN COST-EFFECTIVE 

5 METHODS OF HEALTH CARE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 

7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to trust fund 

8 code) is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 9511. TRUST FUND FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT OUT10 COMES RESEARCH. 

11 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab12 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

13 to be known as the ‘Trust Fund for Medical Treatment 

14 Outcomes Research’ (referred to in this section as the 

15 ‘Trust Fund’), consisting of such amounts as may be ap16 propriated or credited to the Trust Fund as provided in 

17 this section or section 9602(b). 

18 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There is hereby 

19 appropriated to the Trust Fund an amount equivalent to 

20 the taxes received in the Treasury under section 4491 (re21 lating to tax on health insurance policies). 

22 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN TRUST FUND.—

23 On an annual basis and without further appropriation the 

24 Secretary shall distribute the amounts in the Trust Fund 

25 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for use 

26 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Such 
17

•S 2766 IS 

1 amounts shall be available to pay for research activities 

2 related to medical treatment outcomes and shall be in ad3 dition to any other amounts appropriated for such pur4 poses.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec6 tions for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 9511. Trust Fund for Medical Treatment Outcomes Research.’’.

8 SEC. 203. INCREASING THE USE OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY 

9 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—

10 (1) provide grants and contracts to enhance the 

11 development of information technology standards by 

12 the private sector; 

13 (2) carry out activities to examine how the use 

14 of information technology can be encouraged; and 

15 (3) coordinate information technology-related 

16 activities taken by the Federal Government and en17 sure that such activities will further national health 

18 information and infrastructure.
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•S 2766 IS 

1 TITLE III—PRIMARY AND 

2 PREVENTIVE CARE PROVIDERS 

3 SEC. 301. INCREASED MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT FOR 

4 PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS, NURSE PRACTI5 TIONERS, AND CLINICAL NURSE SPECIAL6 ISTS. 

7 (a) FEE SCHEDULE AMOUNT.—Section 

8 1833(a)(1)(O) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 1395l(a)(1)(O)) is amended by striking ‘‘85 percent’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘90 percent’’ each place it appears. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 1833(a)(1)(O) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 1395l(a)(1)(O)) is amended by striking ‘‘clinic’’ and in14 serting ‘‘clinical’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to items and services furnished on 

17 and after January 1, 2005. 

18 SEC. 302. REQUIRING COVERAGE OF CERTAIN NONPHYSI19 CIAN PROVIDERS UNDER THE MEDICAID 

20 PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1905(a) of the Social Se22 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(a)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (26), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 
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•S 2766 IS 

1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (27) as para2 graph (28); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (26) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(27) services furnished by a physician assist6 ant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist (as 

7 defined in section 1861(aa)(5)), or certified reg8 istered nurse anesthetist (as defined in section 

9 1861(bb)(2)); and’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

11 1902(a)(10)(C)(iv) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1396a(a)(10)(C)(iv)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and (27)’’ 

13 after ‘‘(24)’’. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to medical assistance furnished 

16 under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 1396 et seq.) beginning with the first fiscal year quarter 

18 that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 303. MEDICAL STUDENT TUTORIAL PROGRAM 

20 GRANTS. 

21 Part C of title VII of the Public Health Service Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 293j et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 
20

•S 2766 IS 

1 ‘‘SEC. 749. MEDICAL STUDENT TUTORIAL PROGRAM 

2 GRANTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish a program to award grants to eligible schools of medi5 cine or osteopathic medicine to enable such schools to pro6 vide medical students for tutorial programs or as partici7 pants in clinics designed to interest high school or college 

8 students in careers in general medical practice. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under this section, a school of medicine or osteopathic 

11 medicine shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an ap12 plication at such time, in such manner, and containing 

13 such information as the Secretary may require, including 

14 assurances that the school will use amounts received under 

15 the grant in accordance with subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts received under a 

18 grant awarded under this section shall be used to—

19 ‘‘(A) fund programs under which students 

20 of the grantee are provided as tutors for high 

21 school and college students in the areas of 

22 mathematics, science, health promotion and 

23 prevention, first aid, nutrition and prenatal 

24 care; 

25 ‘‘(B) fund programs under which students 

26 of the grantee are provided as participants in
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•S 2766 IS 

1 clinics and seminars in the areas described in 

2 paragraph (1); and 

3 ‘‘(C) conduct summer institutes for high 

4 school and college students to promote careers 

5 in medicine. 

6 ‘‘(2) DESIGN OF PROGRAMS.—The programs, 

7 institutes, and other activities conducted by grantees 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be designed to—

9 ‘‘(A) give medical students desiring to 

10 practice general medicine access to the local 

11 community; 

12 ‘‘(B) provide information to high school 

13 and college students concerning medical school 

14 and the general practice of medicine; and 

15 ‘‘(C) promote careers in general medicine. 

16 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

18 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may 

19 be necessary for fiscal year 2006.’’. 

20 SEC. 304. GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTICE GRANTS. 

21 Part C of title VII of the Public Health Service Act, 

22 as amended by section 303, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 
22

•S 2766 IS 

1 ‘‘SEC. 749A. GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTICE GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish a program to award grants to eligible public or private 

4 nonprofit schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine, hos5 pitals, residency programs in family medicine or pediat6 rics, or to a consortium of such entities, to enable such 

7 entities to develop effective strategies for recruiting med8 ical students interested in the practice of general medicine 

9 and placing such students into general practice positions 

10 upon graduation. 

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

12 under this section, an entity of the type described in sub13 section (a) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

14 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

15 such information as the Secretary may require, including 

16 assurances that the entity will use amounts received under 

17 the grant in accordance with subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received under a 

19 grant awarded under this section shall be used to fund 

20 programs under which effective strategies are developed 

21 and implemented for recruiting medical students inter22 ested in the practice of general medicine and placing such 

23 students into general practice positions upon graduation. 

24 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

26 $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
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1 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 

2 thereafter.’’.

Æ