Title: COMMUNITIES Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Creation of Opportunities for Medical Manpower in Underserved Neighborhoods by Indemnifying Tuition and Incentivizing Exceptional Service Act or the COMMUNITIES Act
This bill increases the amount of student loan repayment available to eligible health care providers who agree to complete a five-year period of obligated service in a health professional shortage area. Specifically, for each year of service, the Department of Health and Human Services shall pay one-fifth of the total amount owed on a participating provider's qualifying student loans. Current law caps the maximum amount of student loan repayment that a provider may receive in exchange for such service.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4285 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4285

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for full repayment 
under National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program in case of a 
               5-year commitment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2021

  Mr. Rush (for himself, Mr. Carson, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Danny K. Davis of 
 Illinois, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Takano, 
 and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for full repayment 
under National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program in case of a 
               5-year commitment, 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 ``Creation of Opportunities for 
Medical Manpower in Underserved Neighborhoods by Indemnifying Tuition 
and Incentivizing Exceptional Service Act'' or the ``COMMUNITIES Act''.

SEC. 2. FULL REPAYMENT UNDER NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS LOAN 
              REPAYMENT PROGRAM IN CASE OF 5-YEAR COMMITMENT.

    Section 338B(g)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
254l-1(g)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Full repayment in case of 5-year 
                commitment.--In the case of an individual who, pursuant 
                to subsection (f)(1)(B)(iv), agrees to serve for a 
                period of obligated service equal to 5 years, the 
                Secretary, for each such year of obligated service, 
                shall pay (subject to the availability of 
                appropriations) on behalf of the individual the total 
                amount owed by such individual for loans described in 
                paragraph (1), divided by 5.''.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 338H of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254q) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``this section'' and inserting ``this 
        subpart''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Additional Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to 
amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), there is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart $300,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.''.
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