Title: Ensuring Children's Access to Specialty Care Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Ensuring Children’s Access to Specialty Care Act of 2017
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include pediatric subspecialties in primary health services for purposes of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Psychiatrists who are pediatric subspecialists are included in behavioral and mental health professionals. (These amendments make pediatric subspecialists, including psychiatrists, eligible for the NHSC fellowship program for the delivery of primary health services in health professional shortage areas, the NHSC Scholarship Program, and the NHSC Loan Repayment Program.)

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 989 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 989

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the participation 
   of pediatric subspecialists in the National Health Service Corps 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 28, 2017

  Mr. Blunt (for himself and Mr. Reed) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the participation 
   of pediatric subspecialists in the National Health Service Corps 
                    program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Children's Access to 
Specialty Care Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PARTICIPATION OF PEDIATRIC SUBSPECIALTIES IN NATIONAL HEALTH 
              SERVICE CORPS.

    (a) Primary Health Services Definition.--Section 331(a)(3)(D) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254d(a)(3)(D)) is amended by 
inserting ``(and pediatric subspecialties and special qualifications in 
pediatrics)'' after ``pediatrics''.
    (b) Behavioral and Mental Health Professionals Definition.--Section 
331(a)(3)(E)(i) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
254d(a)(3)(E)(i)) is amended by inserting ``(including pediatric 
subspecialists thereof)'' after ``psychiatrists''.
    (c) Health Professional Shortage Areas.--Section 332(a) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``(including such a 
        population group of children and adolescents)'' after 
        ``shortage''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ``pediatric 
        subspecialty medical residency or fellowship training site,'' 
        after ``health department,''.
    (d) Loan Repayment Program.--Subparagraph (B) of section 338B(b)(1) 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l-1(b)(1)) is amended by 
inserting ``(including a pediatric subspecialty residency or fellowship 
training program)'' before the semicolon.
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