I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6597 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a loan repayment 
program for mental health professionals to relieve workforce shortages, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2018 
Mr. KATKO (for himself and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) 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 
loan repayment program for mental health professionals 
to relieve workforce shortages, 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 ‘‘Mental Health Profes-
sionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act of 
2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH 
PROFESSIONALS IN SHORTAGE. 
Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating part F (42 U.S.C. 295j et 
seq.) as part G; and 
(2) by inserting after part E (42 U.S.C. 294n 
et seq.) the following: 
‘‘PART F—MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN 
WORKFORCE SHORTAGE 
‘‘SEC. 781. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR MENTAL 
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN WORKFORCE 
SHORTAGES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, shall carry out a program under which— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary enters into agreements with 
individuals to make payments in accordance with 
subsection (b) on the principal of and interest on 
any eligible loan; and 
‘‘(2) the individuals each agree to complete a 
period of service in a mental health professional 
shortage area. 
‘‘(b) PAYMENTS.—For each year of obligated service 
by an individual pursuant to an agreement under sub-
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section (a), the Secretary shall make a payment to such 
individual as follows: 
‘‘(1) SERVICE IN A SHORTAGE AREA.—The Sec-
retary shall pay— 
‘‘(A) for each year of obligated service by 
an individual pursuant to an agreement under 
subsection (a), 1⁄6 of the principal of and inter-
est on each eligible loan of the individual which 
is outstanding on the date the individual began 
service pursuant to the agreement; and 
‘‘(B) for completion of the sixth and final 
year of such service, the remainder of such 
principal and interest. 
‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total amount of 
payments under this section to any individual shall 
not exceed $250,000. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE LOANS.—The loans eligible for repay-
ment under this section are each of the following: 
‘‘(1) Any loan for education in mental health or 
a related field leading to a master’s degree, leading 
to a doctoral degree, or consisting of post-doctoral 
study. 
‘‘(2) Any Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Fed-
eral Direct PLUS Loan, or Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loan, or Federal Direct Consolida-
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tion Loan (as such terms are used in section 455 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965). 
‘‘(3) Any Federal Perkins Loan under part E 
of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
‘‘(4) Any other Federal loan as determined ap-
propriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) PERIOD OF SERVICE.—The period of service re-
quired by an agreement under subsection (a) shall consist 
of up to 6 years of full-time employment, with no more 
than one year passing between any two years of covered 
employment, as a mental health professional in the United 
States in a mental health professional shortage area. 
‘‘(e) INELIGIBILITY FOR DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No 
borrower may, for the same service, receive a reduction 
of loan obligations or a loan repayment under both— 
‘‘(1) this subsection; and 
‘‘(2) any Federally supported loan forgiveness 
program, including under section 338B, 338I, or 
846 of this Act, or section 428J, 428L, 455(m), or 
460 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
‘‘(f) BREACH.— 
‘‘(1) LIQUIDATED
DAMAGES
FORMULA.—The 
Secretary may establish a liquidated damages for-
mula to be used in the event of a breach of an 
agreement entered into under subsection (a). 
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‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The failure by an individual 
to complete the full period of service obligated pur-
suant to such an agreement, taken alone, shall not 
constitute a breach of the agreement, so long as the 
individual completed in good faith the years of serv-
ice for which payments were made to the individual 
under this section. 
‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Secretary— 
‘‘(1) may establish such criteria and rules to 
carry out this section as the Secretary determines 
are needed and in addition to the criteria and rules 
specified in this section; and 
‘‘(2) shall give notice to the committees speci-
fied in subsection (h) of any criteria and rules so es-
tablished. 
‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 
after the date of enactment of the Mental Health Profes-
sionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act of 2018, 
and every other year thereafter, the Secretary shall pre-
pare and submit to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 
a report on— 
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‘‘(1) the number and location of borrowers who 
have qualified for loan repayments under this sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(2) the impact of this section on the avail-
ability of mental health services in mental health 
professional shortage areas. 
‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘mental health professional’ 
means a full-time job (including a fellowship) where 
the primary intent and function of the job is the di-
rect treatment or recovery support of patients with 
or in recovery from a mental health disorder, such 
as a physician (MD or DO), psychiatric nurse, social 
worker, mental health counselor, psychologist, psy-
chiatrist, child and adolescent psychiatrist, or neu-
rologist. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘mental health professional 
shortage area’ means— 
‘‘(A) an area designated under section 332 
with respect to a shortage of mental health pro-
fessionals; or 
‘‘(B) any facility, program, center, or clinic 
as determined appropriate by the Secretary for 
purposes of this section because of a shortage 
of mental health professionals, including private 
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physician practices and other medical facilities 
designated under section 332(a) as having such 
a shortage. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2028.’’. 
Æ 
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