Title: VA Health Care Provider Education Debt Relief Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
VA Health Care Provider Education Debt Relief Act of 2017
This bill increases the annual and five-year caps on the amount of education debt reduction available to Veterans Health Administration health care professionals under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) education debt reduction program.
The VA may waive such caps for a participant working in a geographical area designated by the Department of Health and Human Services as a health professional shortage area with respect to such participant's specialty or assignment.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1506 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1506

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the maximum amount 
  of education debt reduction available for health care professionals 
employed by the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2017

 Mr. O'Rourke (for himself, Mr. Bost, Ms. Judy Chu of California, and 
 Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the maximum amount 
  of education debt reduction available for health care professionals 
employed by the Veterans Health Administration, 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 ``VA Health Care Provider Education 
Debt Relief Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Veterans Health Administration suffers from 
        personnel shortages.
            (2) It is essential that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        work to correct such shortages, focusing on health professional 
        shortage areas designated by the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services.
            (3) To correct such shortages, the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs should aggressively exercise the authority under 
        section 7683 of title 38, United States Code, to reduce the 
        education debt of health care providers employed by the 
        Veterans Health Administration.

SEC. 3. INCREASED MAXIMUM EDUCATION DEBT REDUCTION FOR HEALTH CARE 
              PROFESSIONALS EMPLOYED BY THE VETERANS HEALTH 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 7683(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``$120,000'' and inserting 
                ``$150,000''; and
                    (B) by striking ``$24,000'' and inserting 
                ``$30,000''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking all that follows 
        ``who'' and inserting ``works in a geographical area that the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services has designated under 
        section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e) 
        as a health professional shortage area with regards to the 
        specialty or assignment of the participant.''.
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