I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7177 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a scholarship and 
loan repayment program to incentivize physicians to enter into the field 
of sickle cell disease research and treatment, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 21, 2022 
Mr. CRIST (for himself and Ms. LEE of California) 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 a 
scholarship and loan repayment program to incentivize 
physicians to enter into the field of sickle cell disease 
research and treatment, 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 ‘‘Sickle Cell Care Ex-
pansion Act of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. ADVANCING TREATMENT AND RESEARCH PER-
TAINING TO SICKLE CELL DISEASE. 
Part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘Subpart XIII—Advancing Treatment and Research 
Pertaining to Sickle Cell Disease 
‘‘SEC. 340J. SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REPAYMENT PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To advance learning regarding 
sickle cell disease and to enhance the supply of physicians 
to treat such disease, especially with respect to adult popu-
lations, the Secretary, acting through the Administrator 
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
shall carry out a program consisting of entering into con-
tracts with individuals under which— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary awards a scholarship under 
subsection (b) or agrees to make loan repayments 
under subsection (c) with respect to each individual; 
and 
‘‘(2) the individual agrees to serve for a period 
(in this section referred to as the ‘period of obligated 
service’) as a physician engaged in— 
‘‘(A) sickle cell disease research; or 
‘‘(B) service in a public or private setting 
that is primarily focused on diagnosis, treat-
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ment, and education related to sickle cell dis-
ease in a health care facility, clinic, rural health 
clinic, mobile medical asset, or other facility as 
determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) SCHOLARSHIPS.— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate 
in the scholarship program under this section, an in-
dividual shall— 
‘‘(A) be accepted for enrollment, or be en-
rolled, as a full-time student in an accredited 
(as determined by the Secretary) educational 
institution in a State and in a course of study 
or program offered by such institution and ap-
proved by the Secretary, leading to a degree in 
medicine or osteopathic medicine; 
‘‘(B) submit an application to participate 
in the scholarship program; and 
‘‘(C) sign and submit to the Secretary, at 
the time of submittal of such application, a 
written contract (described in paragraph (2)) to 
accept payment of a scholarship and to serve 
(in accordance with this section) for the appli-
cable period of obligated service. 
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‘‘(2) WRITTEN
CONTRACT.—The written con-
tract under this subsection between the Secretary 
and an individual shall contain— 
‘‘(A) an agreement that— 
‘‘(i) subject to paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary agrees to provide the individual with 
a scholarship in each such school year or 
years for a period of years (not to exceed 
four school years) determined by the indi-
vidual, during which period the individual 
is pursuing a course of study described in 
paragraph (1)(A); and 
‘‘(ii) subject to paragraph (1), the in-
dividual agrees to— 
‘‘(I) accept provision of such a 
scholarship to the individual; 
‘‘(II) maintain enrollment in a 
course of study described in para-
graph (1)(A) until the individual com-
pletes the course of study; 
‘‘(III) maintain an acceptable 
level of academic standing; 
‘‘(IV) complete a residency in a 
specialty that the Secretary deter-
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mines is consistent with pursuit of a 
fellowship in hematology; 
‘‘(V) complete a fellowship in the 
specialty of hematology; and 
‘‘(VI) serve for a time period 
equal to one year for each school year 
for which the individual was provided 
a scholarship under this section; 
‘‘(B) a provision that any financial obliga-
tion of the United States arising out of the con-
tract and any obligation of the individual which 
is conditioned thereon, is contingent upon funds 
being appropriated for scholarships under this 
section; 
‘‘(C) a statement of the damages to which 
the United States is entitled if the individual 
should breach the contract; and 
‘‘(D) such other statements of the rights 
and liabilities of the Secretary and of the indi-
vidual as the Secretary determines appropriate, 
not inconsistent with the provisions of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(c) LOAN REPAYMENTS.— 
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‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate 
in the loan repayment program under this section, 
an individual shall— 
‘‘(A) have a degree in medicine or osteo-
pathic medicine; be enrolled in an approved 
graduate training program in medicine or osteo-
pathic medicine; or be enrolled as a full-time 
student in an accredited (as determined by the 
Secretary) educational institution in a State, 
and in the final year of a course of study of-
fered by such institution and approved by the 
Secretary, leading to a degree in medicine or 
osteopathic medicine; 
‘‘(B) submit an application to participate 
in the loan repayment program; and 
‘‘(C) sign and submit to the Secretary, at 
the time of submittal of such application, a 
written contract (described in paragraph (2)) to 
accept payment by the Secretary of the edu-
cational loans of the individual in consideration 
of the individual serving for a period of obli-
gated service. 
‘‘(2) WRITTEN
CONTRACT.—The written con-
tract under this subsection between the Secretary 
and an individual shall contain— 
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‘‘(A) an agreement that— 
‘‘(i) subject to paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary agrees to pay on behalf of the indi-
vidual the principal, interest, and related 
expenses on government and commercial 
loans received by the individual regarding 
the undergraduate or graduate education 
of the individual (or both), which loans 
were made for— 
‘‘(I) tuition expenses; 
‘‘(II) all other reasonable edu-
cational 
expenses, 
including 
fees, 
books, and laboratory expenses, in-
curred by the individual; or 
‘‘(III) reasonable living expenses 
as determined by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(ii) subject to paragraph (1), the in-
dividual agrees to— 
‘‘(I) accept loan payments on be-
half of the individual; 
‘‘(II) maintain enrollment in a 
course of study described in para-
graph (1)(C) (if applicable) until the 
individual completes the course of 
study; 
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‘‘(III) maintain an acceptable 
level of academic standing; 
‘‘(IV) complete a residency in a 
specialty that the Secretary deter-
mines is consistent with pursuit of a 
fellowship in hematology; and 
‘‘(V) complete a fellowship in he-
matology; 
‘‘(B) a provision that any financial obliga-
tion of the United States arising out of the con-
tract and any obligation of the individual which 
is conditioned thereon, is contingent upon funds 
being appropriated for loan repayments under 
this section; 
‘‘(C) a statement of the damages to which 
the United States is entitled if the individual 
should breach the contract; and 
‘‘(D) such other statements of the rights 
and liabilities of the Secretary and of the indi-
vidual as the Secretary determines appropriate, 
not inconsistent with the provisions of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding contracts under this 
section for scholarships and loan repayments, the Sec-
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retary may prioritize making awards to individuals from 
disadvantaged backgrounds. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘sickle 
cell disease research’ means research into the detection, 
diagnosis, treatment, or control of sickle cell disease. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 
through 2028. 
‘‘SEC. 340K. COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS TO ENGAGE THE 
SICKLE CELL DISEASE POPULATION BY DE-
SIGNING EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY PRO-
GRAMS AND POLICIES FOR HEALTH AND 
COMMUNITY SERVICES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
program consisting of awarding grants to eligible entities 
for the establishment and support of education and advo-
cacy programs that— 
‘‘(1) engage the sickle cell disease population, 
their families, or State and local governments in 
order to— 
‘‘(A) improve sickle cell disease health lit-
eracy; 
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‘‘(B) disseminate information on health 
and community services related to sickle cell 
disease; or 
‘‘(C) improve the care and treatment deci-
sionmaking process related to sickle cell disease; 
and 
‘‘(2) may include education and advocacy re-
garding fertility preservation and surrogacy options 
for individuals with sickle cell disease. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant under sub-
section (a), an eligible entity shall submit an application 
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information and assurances as the Secretary 
may require. 
‘‘(c) CONSIDERATION.—In determining whether to 
award a grant under this section to an applicant, and the 
amount of a grant under this section, the Secretary shall 
consider the need for sickle cell education or services in 
the area to be served using the grant. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘eligible 
entity’ means— 
‘‘(1) a Federally qualified health center (as de-
fined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act) 
or nonprofit organization engaged in providing sickle 
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cell disease education, information, or treatment 
services; 
‘‘(2) a community-based organization or faith- 
based organization or clinic that provides services to, 
or engages in, advocacy for individuals with sickle 
cell disease; or 
‘‘(3) a nonprofit organization providing com-
prehensive care to populations with sickle cell dis-
ease, including any such nonprofit organization that 
is a faith-based organization or community-based or-
ganization. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 
2028.’’. 
Æ 
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