I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3890 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to address physician assistant 
training needs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 15, 2021 
Ms. BASS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to address physician 
assistant training needs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Physician Assistant 
Education Public Health Initiatives Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. EXPANDING CLINICAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES. 
The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert-
ing after section 749A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 293l–1) 
the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Jun 30, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3890.IH
H3890
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘SEC. 749A–1. EXPANDING CLINICAL TRAINING OPPORTUNI-
TIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, shall award grants to physician assistant 
education programs to establish or expand clinical edu-
cation and training for physician assistants at underserved 
sites including Federally qualified health centers, critical 
access hospitals, and rural health clinics. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION
FOR
RURAL
SITES.—Of the 
amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 
year, the Secretary shall allocate 50 percent of such 
amount for clinical education and training at underserved 
sites that are located in rural areas. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to physician assist-
ant education programs proposing to establish or expand 
clinical rotations for physician assistants in pediatrics, 
women’s health, or behavioral health. 
‘‘(d) REPORTING
TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) not later than March 1, 2024, submit an 
interim report to the Congress on the implementa-
tion of this section; and 
‘‘(2) not later than March 1, 2027, submit a 
final report to the Congress on such implementation. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Jun 30, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3890.IH
H3890
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2026.’’. 
SEC. 3. PROMOTING TELEHEALTH EDUCATION FOR PHYSI-
CIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS. 
The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert-
ing after section 749A–1 of such Act, as added by section 
2, the following: 
‘‘SEC. 749A–2. PROMOTING TELEHEALTH EDUCATION FOR 
PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, shall award grants to physician assistant 
education programs to develop and implement telehealth 
curricula for students who are enrolled at such programs. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Recipients of grants under 
this section shall use the grants to develop and implement 
curricula that improve student knowledge on telehealth de-
livery, including— 
‘‘(1) effective patient communication principles; 
‘‘(2) legal requirements pertaining to privacy 
and security; 
‘‘(3) social, cultural, physical, and linguistic 
barriers to the use of telehealth services; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Jun 30, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3890.IH
H3890
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(4) patient safety and criteria for care esca-
lation during a telehealth encounter. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2026.’’. 
SEC. 4. RESEARCH TO ENHANCE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT 
EDUCATION. 
The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert-
ing after section 749A–2 of such Act, as added by section 
3, the following: 
‘‘SEC. 749A–3. RESEARCH TO ENHANCE PHYSICIAN ASSIST-
ANT EDUCATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, shall award grants to eligible entities to 
fund research on physician assistant education enhance-
ment and innovation. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Recipients of grants under 
this section shall use the grants to fund research on physi-
cian assistant education enhancement and innovation, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(1) the use of simulation to mitigate clinical 
training site shortages; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Jul 08, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3890.IH
H3890
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) barriers to integrating physician assistant 
students into the delivery of telehealth services; or 
‘‘(3) recruitment and retention strategies for 
faculty and students underrepresented in physician 
assistant education programs and the physician as-
sistant profession. 
‘‘(c) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Recipients of grants 
under this section shall provide to the Secretary with re-
spect to each year covered by the grant a report on the 
activities conducted using such funds, including— 
‘‘(1) the number of researchers supported dur-
ing such year by such recipient using such funds; 
‘‘(2) a list of the researchers counted under 
paragraph (1), organized by researcher, including— 
‘‘(A) the research topic of each such re-
searcher; and 
‘‘(B) citations to published clinical and sci-
entific research by each such researcher that is 
attributable to support under this section; 
‘‘(3) an evaluation of the benefits of grants 
under this section; and 
‘‘(4) any other information the Secretary may 
request. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Jun 30, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3890.IH
H3890
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means an organization that has demonstrated 
expertise in physician assistant education and is— 
‘‘(A) a nonprofit organization; or 
‘‘(B) an institution of higher education. 
‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘physician assistant education’ means selecting, 
educating, and graduating students in accredited 
graduate physician assistant education programs. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2026.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Jun 30, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3890.IH
H3890
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS