Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-850
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2017-04-05
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding

Government lending and loan guarantees

Medical education

Student aid and college costs
Latest action: action_date: 2017-04-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text as introduced in Senate: CR S2367-2368)

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-04-05
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017</b> <p>This bill amends title I (General Provisions) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise institutional eligibility criteria for a foreign graduate medical school to participate in federal student aid programs.</p> <p>Current law requires a foreign graduate medical school to meet certain requirements&#8212;a minimum pass rate threshold on the medical licensing exam and a minimum percentage of foreign students&#8212;to participate in the Federal Direct Loan (DL) program, unless the Department of Education (ED) establishes alternative standards or the school has a grandfathered clinical training program. This bill terminates ED's authority to establish alternative standards and eliminates the exemption for a school with a grandfathered clinical training program (i.e., it requires all foreign graduate medical schools to meet minimum requirements to participate in the DL program).</p>

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 850 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 5 (legislative day, April 4), 2017 Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Cassidy ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish fair and consistent eligibility requirements for graduate medical schools operating outside the United States and Canada.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017 . 2. Purpose To establish consistent eligibility requirements for graduate medical schools operating outside of the United States and Canada in order to increase accountability and protect American students and taxpayer dollars. 3. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Three for-profit schools in the Caribbean receive nearly ¾ of all Federal funding under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) that goes to students enrolled at foreign graduate medical schools, despite those three schools being exempt from meeting the same eligibility requirements as the majority of graduate medical schools located outside of the United States and Canada. (2) The National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation and the Department of Education recommend that all foreign graduate medical schools should be required to meet the same eligibility requirements to participate in Federal funding under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). (3) The attrition rate at United States medical schools averaged 3.4 percent in 2014, while rates at for-profit Caribbean medical schools have been known to reach 30 percent. (4) In 2016, residency match rates for foreign trained graduates averaged 54 percent compared to 94 percent for graduates of medical schools in the United States. (5) On average, students at for-profit medical schools operating outside of the United States and Canada amass more student debt than those at medical schools in the United States. 4. Repeal grandfather provisions Section 102(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(2) ) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause (i) and inserting the following: (i) in the case of a graduate medical school located outside the United States— (I) at least 60 percent of those enrolled in, and at least 60 percent of the graduates of, the graduate medical school outside the United States were not persons described in section 484(a)(5) in the year preceding the year for which a student is seeking a loan under part D of title IV; and (II) at least 75 percent of the individuals who were students or graduates of the graduate medical school outside the United States or Canada (both nationals of the United States and others) taking the examinations administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates received a passing score in the year preceding the year for which a student is seeking a loan under part D of title IV; ; and (2) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by adding at the end the following: (V) Expiration of authority The authority of a graduate medical school described in subclause (I) to qualify for participation in the loan programs under part D of title IV pursuant to this clause shall expire beginning on the first July 1 following the date of enactment of the Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017 . . 5. Loss of eligibility If a graduate medical school loses eligibility to participate in the loan programs under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) due to the enactment of the amendments made by section 4, then a student enrolled at such graduate medical school on or before the date of enactment of this Act may, notwithstanding such loss of eligibility, continue to be eligible to receive a loan under such part D while attending such graduate medical school in which the student was enrolled upon the date of enactment of this Act, subject to the student continuing to meet all applicable requirements for satisfactory academic progress, until the earliest of— (1) withdrawal by the student from the graduate medical school; (2) completion of the program of study by the student at the graduate medical school; or (3) the fourth June 30 after such loss of eligibility.