I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4016

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 

MARCH 23, 2004

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 2004’’. 

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) ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSION.—The term 

2 ‘allied health profession’ means any profession prac3 ticed by an individual in his or her capacity as an 

4 allied health professional.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS. 

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

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

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

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

10 ‘‘PART F—ALLIED HEALTH 

11 ‘‘SEC. 780. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

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

13 issue public service announcements that advertise and pro14 mote the allied health professions, highlight the advan15 tages and rewards of allied health professions, and encour16 age individuals to enter the allied health professions. 

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

18 described in subsection (a) shall be broadcast through ap19 propriate media outlets, including television or radio, and 

20 other methods approved by the Secretary in a manner in21 tended to reach as wide and diverse an audience as pos22 sible. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 780A. STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE AN2 NOUNCEMENTS. 

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

4 to eligible entities to support State and local advertising 

5 campaigns through appropriate media outlets to promote 

6 the allied health professions and highlight the advantages 

7 and rewards of the allied health professions. 

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

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

10 through such grant to acquire local television and radio 

11 time, place advertisements in local newspapers, or post in12 formation on billboards or on the Internet in a manner 

13 intended to reach as wide and diverse an audience as pos14 sible, in order to—

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

16 professions; 

17 ‘‘(2) promote allied health professions education 

18 programs; 

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

20 regarding such education programs; 

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

22 are practicing allied health professions in order to 

23 recruit new allied health professionals; or 

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

25 individuals for the allied health professions. 
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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—An eligible entity that receives a 

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

3 through such grant to advertise particular employment op4 portunities. 

5 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec6 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means an entity that is—

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

8 health association; 

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

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

11 health care facility, an allied health education pro12 gram, or an entity that provides similar services or 

13 serves a like function. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 780B. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

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

16 program of entering into contracts with eligible individuals 

17 under which such individuals agree to serve as allied 

18 health professionals for the period described in subsection 

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

20 health professionals, in consideration of the Federal Gov21 ernment agreeing to provide to the individuals scholar22 ships for the cost of tuition at schools of allied health in 

23 allied health professions curricula. 

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

25 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an individual 
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1 who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a full-time 

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

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

4 this section, the Secretary shall select a range of full-time 

5 and part-time students enrolled in a certificate, associate, 

6 bachelor’s, or graduate program. 

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

8 eligible individual under this section may not exceed 

9 $10,000 for any academic year. 

10 ‘‘(e) SERVICE REQUIREMENT.—

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

12 enter into a contract with an eligible individual 

13 under this section unless the individual agrees to 

14 serve as an allied health professional at a health 

15 care facility with a critical shortage of allied health 

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

17 less than 1 year for each academic year for which 

18 the individual receives a scholarship under this sec19 tion, or for a period of part-time service in accord20 ance with paragraph (2). 

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

22 complete the period of service described in para23 graph (1) on a part-time basis if the individual has 

24 a written agreement that—
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1 ‘‘(A) is entered into by the facility and the 

2 individual and is approved by the Secretary; 

3 and 

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

5 service will be extended so that the aggregate 

6 amount of service performed will equal the 

7 amount of service that would be performed 

8 through a period of full-time service described 

9 in paragraph (1). 

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

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

12 as inconsistent with this section, apply to the program es13 tablished in this section in the same manner and to the 

14 same extent as such provisions apply to the National 

15 Health Service Corps Scholarship Program established in 

16 such subpart. 

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

18 date of the enactment of this section, and annually there19 after, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Con20 gress a report describing the program carried out under 

21 this section, including statements regarding—

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

23 grant recipients; 

24 ‘‘(2) the number of graduates; 

25 ‘‘(3) the amount of scholarship payments made; 
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1 ‘‘(4) which educational institution the recipients 

2 attended; 

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

4 scholarship recipients at health care facilities with a 

5 critical shortage of allied health professionals; 

6 ‘‘(6) the default rate and actions required; 

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

8 the scholarship program; 

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

10 the reason for the default; 

11 ‘‘(9) the demographics of the individuals par12 ticipating in the scholarship program; and 

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

14 benefits of the program. 

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

16 PRACTICE, AND RETENTION GRANTS. 

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

18 may award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligi19 ble entities for—

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

21 professions programs; 

22 ‘‘(2) developing and implementing internship 

23 and residency programs to encourage mentoring and 

24 the development of specialties and training for new 

25 or emerging public health needs; 
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1 ‘‘(3) providing education in new technologies, 

2 including distance learning methodologies; or 

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

4 universities to promote development of bachelor’s, 

5 master’s, and doctoral degree programs for allied 

6 health professions faculty. 

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

8 may award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligi9 ble entities for—

10 ‘‘(1) establishing or expanding allied health pro11 fessions practice arrangements in noninstitutional 

12 settings to demonstrate methods to improve access 

13 to primary health care in medically underserved 

14 communities; 

15 ‘‘(2) providing care for underserved populations 

16 and other high-risk groups and individuals with 

17 chronic conditions; 

18 ‘‘(3) providing managed care, quality improve19 ment, and other skills needed to practice in existing 

20 and emerging organized health care systems; or 

21 ‘‘(4) developing cultural competencies among al22 lied health professionals. 

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

24 may award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligi25 ble entities to enhance the allied health professions work-
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1 force by initiating and maintaining allied health profession 

2 retention programs—

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

4 health professions personnel in a variety of training 

5 settings, including cross training or specialty train6 ing among diverse population groups; or 

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

8 and training required to enter the allied health pro9 fessions and advance within such professions, such 

10 as by providing career counseling and mentoring. 

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

12 award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligible en13 tities—

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

15 health outcomes relevant to the allied health profes16 sions; or 

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

18 priority to allied health professional education, prac19 tice, and retention, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

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

22 the grants awarded and the contracts entered into under 

23 this section. Each such report shall identify the overall 

24 number of such grants and contracts and provide an ex-
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1 planation of why each such grant or contract will meet 

2 the priority need of the workforce. 

3 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec4 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ includes a school of allied 

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

6 school and a facility. 

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

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

9 award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement, 

10 in coordination with programs under section 753, pro11 grams and initiatives to train and educate allied health 

12 professionals in providing geriatric care for the elderly. 

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

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

15 grant to—

16 ‘‘(1) provide training to allied health profes17 sionals who will provide geriatric care for the elderly; 

18 ‘‘(2) disseminate curricula relating to the treat19 ment of the health problems of elderly individuals; 

20 ‘‘(3) train allied health professions faculty 

21 members in geriatrics; or 

22 ‘‘(4) provide continuing education to allied 

23 health professionals who provide geriatric care. 

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

25 grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 
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1 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con2 taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably 

3 require. 

4 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec5 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ includes a school of allied 

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

7 program and facility. 

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

9 PROGRAM. 

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

11 through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 

12 Services Administration, may enter into an agreement 

13 with any institution of higher education for the establish14 ment and operation of a student loan fund in accordance 

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

16 health professions faculty. 

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

18 under this section shall—

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

20 loan fund by the institution of higher education in21 volved; 

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

23 ‘‘(A) the Federal capital contributions to 

24 the fund; 
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1 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to not less than 

2 one-ninth of such Federal capital contributions, 

3 contributed by such institution; 

4 ‘‘(C) collections of principal and interest 

5 on loans made from the fund; and 

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

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

8 loans to students of the institution in accordance 

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

10 loans and interest thereon; 

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

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

13 study or, at the discretion of the Secretary, a part14 time course of study in an allied health profession; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(5) contain such other provisions as are nec17 essary to protect the financial interests of the 

18 United States. 

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

20 loan fund established by an institution of higher education 

21 pursuant to an agreement under this section shall be made 

22 to an individual on such terms and conditions as the insti23 tution may determine, except that—
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1 ‘‘(1) such terms and conditions are subject to 

2 any conditions, limitations, and requirements pre3 scribed by the Secretary; 

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

5 the loans for any academic year made by institutions 

6 of higher education from loan funds established pur7 suant to agreements under this section may not ex8 ceed $30,000, plus any amount determined by the 

9 Secretary on an annual basis to reflect inflation; 

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

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

12 institution as follows: 

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

14 each of the first, second, and third year of full15 time employment, required by the loan agree16 ment entered into under this section, as a fac17 ulty member in a school of allied health, the in18 stitution shall cancel 20 percent of the principle 

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

20 unpaid on the first day of such employment; 

21 and 

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

23 the fourth year of full-time employment, re24 quired by the loan agreement entered into 

25 under this section, as a faculty member in a 
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1 school of allied health, the institution shall can2 cel 25 percent of the principle of, and the inter3 est on, the amount of such loan unpaid on the 

4 first day of such employment; 

5 ‘‘(4) such a loan may be used to pay the cost 

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

7 other reasonable education expenses; 

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

9 graduated periodic installments (with the right of 

10 the borrower to accelerate repayment) over the 10-

11 year period that begins 9 months after the individual 

12 ceases to pursue a course of study at a school of al13 lied health; and 

14 ‘‘(6) such a loan shall—

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

16 months after the individual ceases to pursue a 

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

18 interest on the unpaid balance of the loan at 

19 the rate of 3 percent per annum; or 

20 ‘‘(B) subject to subsection (e), if the insti21 tution determines that the individual will not 

22 complete such course of study or serve as a fac23 ulty member as required under the loan agree24 ment under this section, bear interest on the 
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1 unpaid balance of the loan at the prevailing 

2 market rate. 

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

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

5 this section, the Secretary shall pay to the institution of 

6 higher education an amount equal to the school’s propor7 tionate share of the canceled portion, as determined by 

8 the Secretary. 

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

10 individual involved, the Secretary may review any deter11 mination by an institution of higher education under sub12 section (c)(6)(B). 

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

14 the Federal Register the name of each institution of high15 er education participating in the allied health professions 

16 faculty loan program under this section. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 780F. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

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

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

20 meaning given to that term under section 801 and 

21 includes any health care facility of the Veterans 

22 Health Administration. 

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

24 has the meaning given to that term in section 101 

25 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

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

3 $28,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. COUNCIL ON HEALTH PROFESSION EDUCATION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 in the Health Resources and Service Administration a 

7 council, to be known as the ‘‘Council on Health Profession 

8 Education’’. 

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

10 Education shall monitor the status of the allied health pro11 fessions workforce and make annual reports to the Con12 gress. 

13 SEC. 6. REPORTS BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE. 

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

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp16 troller General of the United States shall—

17 (1) conduct a survey to determine national vari18 ations in the allied health professions at hospitals, 

19 nursing homes, home health agencies, ambulatory 

20 rehabilitation services, and other health care pro21 viders; and 

22 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the re23 sults of such survey, including findings and rec24 ommendations on Federal remedies to ease allied 

25 health profession shortages. 
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1 (b) ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS.—Not later than 4 

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

3 Comptroller General of the United States shall—

4 (1) conduct an evaluation of whether the effec5 tiveness of programs authorized under this Act, in6 cluding whether such programs have demonstrably 

7 increased the number of applicants to schools of al8 lied health; and 

9 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the re10 sults of such evaluation. 

11 SEC. 7. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

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

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

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

15 pharmacy,’’.

Æ