[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2134 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2134
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program to provide educational assistance to certain former members of
the Armed Forces for education and training as physician assistants of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, to establish pay grades and require
competitive pay for physician assistants of the Department, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 5, 2015
Mr. Tester (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program to provide educational assistance to certain former members of
the Armed Forces for education and training as physician assistants of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, to establish pay grades and require
competitive pay for physician assistants of the Department, 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 ``Grow Our Own Directive: Physician
Assistant Employment and Education Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO PHYSICIAN
ASSISTANTS TO BE EMPLOYED AT THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
(a) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
carry out a pilot program to be known as the ``Grow Our Own
Directive'' or ``G.O.O.D.'' pilot program (in this section
referred to as the ``pilot program'') to provide educational
assistance to certain former members of the Armed Forces for
education and training as physician assistants of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2) Information on pilot program.--The Secretary shall
provide information on the pilot program to eligible
individuals under subsection (b), including information on
application requirements and a list of entities with which the
Secretary has partnered under subsection (g).
(b) Eligible Individuals.--An individual is eligible to participate
in the pilot program if the individual--
(1) has medical or military health experience gained while
serving as a member of the Armed Forces;
(2) has received a certificate, associate degree,
baccalaureate degree, master's degree, or postbaccalaureate
training in a science relating to health care;
(3) has participated in the delivery of health care
services or related medical services, including participation
in military training relating to the identification,
evaluation, treatment, and prevention of diseases and
disorders; and
(4) does not have a degree of doctor of medicine, doctor of
osteopathy, or doctor of dentistry.
(c) Duration.--The pilot program shall be carried out during the
five-year period beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Selection.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall select not less than
250 eligible individuals under subsection (b) to participate in
the pilot program.
(2) Priority for selection.--In selecting individuals to
participate in the pilot program under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall give priority to the following individuals:
(A) Individuals who participated in the
Intermediate Care Technician Pilot Program of the
Department that was carried out by the Secretary
between January 2011 and February 2015.
(B) Individuals who agree to be employed as a
physician assistant for the Veterans Health
Administration at a medical facility of the Department
located in a community that--
(i) is designated as a medically
underserved population under section
330(b)(3)(A) of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A)); and
(ii) is in a State with a per capita
population of veterans of more than 9 percent
according to the National Center for Veterans
Analysis and Statistics and the United States
Census Bureau.
(e) Educational Assistance.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the pilot program, the
Secretary shall provide educational assistance to individuals
participating in the pilot program, including through the use
of scholarships, to cover the costs to such individuals of
obtaining a master's degree in physician assistant studies or a
similar master's degree.
(2) Use of existing programs.--In providing educational
assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use the
Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professionals Educational
Assistance Program under chapter 76 of title 38, United States
Code, and such other educational assistance programs of the
Department as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(3) Use of scholarships.--The Secretary shall provide not
less than 35 scholarships under the pilot program to
individuals participating in the pilot program during each year
in which the pilot program is carried out.
(f) Period of Obligated Service.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into an
agreement with each individual participating in the pilot
program in which such individual agrees to be employed as a
physician assistant for the Veterans Health Administration for
a period of obligated service specified in paragraph (2).
(2) Period specified.--With respect to each individual
participating in the pilot program, the period of obligated
service specified in this paragraph for the individual is--
(A) if the individual is participating in the pilot
program through a program described in subsection
(e)(2) that specifies a period of obligated service,
the period specified with respect to such program; or
(B) if the individual is participating in the pilot
program other than through a program described in such
subsection, or if such program does not specify a
period of obligated service, a period of three years or
such other period as the Secretary considers
appropriate for purposes of the pilot program.
(g) Breach.--
(1) Liability.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
individual who participates in the pilot program and fails to
satisfy the period of obligated service under subsection (f)
shall be liable to the United States, in lieu of such obligated
service, for the amount that has been paid or is payable to or
on behalf of the individual under the pilot program, reduced by
the proportion that the number of days served for completion of
the period of obligated service bears to the total number of
days in the period of obligated service of such individual.
(2) Exception.--If an individual is participating in the
pilot program through a program described in subsection (e)(2)
that specifies a period of obligated service, the liability of
the individual for failing to satisfy the period of obligated
service under subsection (f) shall be determined as specified
with respect to such program.
(h) Mentors.--The Secretary shall ensure that a physician assistant
mentor or mentors are available for individuals participating in the
pilot program at each facility of the Veterans Health Administration at
which a participant in the pilot program is employed.
(i) Partnerships.--In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary
shall seek to partner with the following:
(1) Not less than 15 institutions of higher education
that--
(A) offer a master's degree program in physician
assistant studies or a similar area of study that is
accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on
Education for the Physician Assistant; and
(B) agree--
(i) to guarantee seats in such master's
degree program for individuals participating in
the pilot program who meet the entrance
requirements for such master's degree program;
and
(ii) to provide individuals participating
in the pilot program with information on
admissions criteria and the admissions process.
(2) Other institutions of higher education that offer
programs in physician assistant studies or other similar areas
of studies that are accredited by the Accreditation Review
Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
(3) The Transition Assistance Program of the Department of
Defense.
(4) The Veterans' Employment and Training Service of the
Department of Labor.
(5) Programs carried out under chapter 41 of title 38,
United State Code, for the purpose of marketing and advertising
the pilot program to veterans and members of the Armed Forces
who may be interested in the pilot program.
(j) Administration of Pilot Program.--For purposes of carrying out
the pilot program, the Secretary shall appoint or select within the
Office of Physician Assistant Services of the Veterans Health
Administration the following:
(1) A Deputy Director for Education and Career Development
of Physician Assistants who--
(A) is a physician assistant, a veteran, and
employed by the Department as of the date of the
enactment of this Act;
(B) is responsible for--
(i) overseeing the pilot program;
(ii) recruiting candidates to participate
in the pilot program;
(iii) coordinating with individuals
participating in the pilot program and
assisting those individuals in applying and
being admitted to a master's degree program
under the pilot program; and
(iv) providing information to eligible
individuals under subsection (b) with respect
to the pilot program; and
(C) may be employed in the field at a medical
center of the Department.
(2) A Deputy Director of Recruitment and Retention who--
(A) is a physician assistant, a veteran, and
employed by the Department as of the date of the
enactment of this Act;
(B) is responsible for--
(i) identifying and coordinating the needs
of the pilot program and assist the Secretary
in providing mentors under subsection (h) to
participants in the pilot program; and
(ii) coordinating the staff of facilities
of the Veterans Health Administration with
respect to identifying employment positions and
mentors under subsection (h) for participants
in the pilot program; and
(C) may be employed in the field at a medical
center of the Department.
(3) A recruiter who--
(A) reports directly to the Deputy Director of
Recruitment and Retention; and
(B) works with the Workforce Management and
Consulting Office and the Healthcare Talent Management
Office of the Veterans Health Administration to develop
and implement national recruiting strategic plans for
the recruitment and retention of physician assistants
within the Department.
(4) An administrative assistant, compensated at a rate not
less than level GS-6 of the General Schedule, or equivalent,
who assists with administrative duties relating to the pilot
program in the Office of Physician Assistant Services and such
other duties as determined by the Secretary to ensure that the
Office runs effectively and efficiently.
(k) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
in collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of
Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall
submit to Congress a report on the pilot program.
(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) The extent to which the pilot program is
effective in improving the ability of eligible
individuals under subsection (b) to become physician
assistants.
(B) An examination of whether the pilot program is
achieving the goals of--
(i) enabling individuals to build on
medical skills gained as members of the Armed
Forces by entering into the physician assistant
workforce of the Department; and
(ii) helping to meet the shortage of
physician assistants employed by the
Department.
(C) An identification of such modifications to the
pilot program as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services consider
necessary to meet the goals described in subparagraph
(B).
(D) An assessment of whether the pilot program
could serve as a model for other programs of the
Department to assist individuals in obtaining
certification and employment in other health care
fields.
(l) Source of Amounts.--Not less than $8,000,000 of the amount
necessary to carry out the pilot program shall be derived from amounts
appropriated to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS FOR USING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS TO
EDUCATE AND HIRE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish
standards described in subsection (b) to improve the use by the
Department of Veterans Affairs of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program under chapter 76 of
title 38, United States Code, and other educational assistance programs
of the Department, including the pilot program under section 2, to
educate and hire physician assistants of the Department.
(b) Standards.--The standards described in this subsection are the
following:
(1) Holding directors of medical centers of the Department
accountable for failure to use the educational assistance
programs described in subsection (a) and other incentives--
(A) to advance employees of the Department in their
education as physician assistants; and
(B) to improve recruitment and retention of
physician assistants.
(2) Ensuring that the Department of Veterans Affairs
Education Debt Reduction Program under subchapter VII of
chapter 76 of such title is available for participants in the
pilot program under section 2 to fill vacant physician
assistant positions at the Department, including by--
(A) including in all vacancy announcements for
physician assistant positions the availability of the
Education Debt Reduction Program; and
(B) informing applicants to physician assistant
positions of their eligibility for the Education Debt
Reduction Program.
(3) Monitoring compliance with the application process for
educational assistance programs described in subsection (a) to
ensure that such programs are being fully utilized to carry out
this section.
(4) Creating programs, including through the use of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Incentive Scholarship
Program under subchapter VI of chapter 76 of such title, to
encourage employees of the Department to apply to accredited
physician assistant programs.
(c) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as
the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PAY GRADES FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE
COMPETITIVE PAY.
(a) Establishment of Pay Grades.--Section 7404(b) of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT SCHEDULE
``Physician Assistant IV.
``Physician Assistant III.
``Physician Assistant II.
``Physician Assistant I.''.
(b) Competitive Pay.--Section 7451(a)(2) of such title is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new
subparagraph (B):
``(B) Physician assistant.''; and
(3) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by paragraph (1),
by striking ``and registered nurse'' and inserting ``registered
nurse, and physician assistant''.
(c) National Strategic Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
implement a national strategic plan for the retention and
recruitment of physician assistants of the Department of
Veterans Affairs that includes the establishment and adoption
of standards for the provision of competitive pay to physician
assistants of the Department in comparison to the pay of
physician assistants in the private sector.
(2) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report
on the implementation of the national strategic plan under
paragraph (1).
<all>