[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1403 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1403

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a grant program to 
award grants to accredited public institutions of higher education, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 2, 2023

 Mr. Mullin (for himself and Ms. Rosen) 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 establish a grant program to 
award grants to accredited public institutions of higher education, 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 ``Medical Student Education 
Authorization Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. EDUCATION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FOR MEDICALLY 
              UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

    Part B of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 742. EDUCATION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FOR 
              MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
shall establish a grant program to award grants to accredited public 
institutions of higher education to carry out the activities described 
in subsection (d) for the purposes of--
            ``(1) expanding and supporting education for medical 
        students who are preparing to become physicians; and
            ``(2) preparing and encouraging each such student trained 
        by a grantee to serve in a Tribal, rural, or medically 
        underserved community as a primary care physician after 
        completing residency training.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--In order to be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, an accredited public institution of higher 
education shall--
            ``(1) be located in a State that is in the top quintile of 
        States by a projected shortage of primary care physicians, as 
        determined by the Secretary; and
            ``(2) submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 
        in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary may require, that includes--
                    ``(A) a certification that such institution will 
                use amounts provided to the institution through the 
                grant to carry out the activities described in 
                subsection (d); and
                    ``(B) a description of how such institution will 
                carry out such activities.
    ``(c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to accredited public institutions of 
higher education that meet the eligibility requirements of subsection 
(b) and--
            ``(1) are located in a State with not fewer than 2 Indian 
        Tribes or Tribal organizations (as such terms are defined in 
        section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act); and
            ``(2) have established, or demonstrate plans to establish, 
        a public-private partnership that supports the purposes 
        described in subsection (a).
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall, as appropriate, use the funds made available under 
such grant to carry out the following activities:
            ``(1) Support or expand community-based and experiential 
        training for medical students who will practice in or serve 
        Tribal, rural, and medically underserved communities.
            ``(2) Develop and operate programs to train medical 
        students in the provision of primary care services, which may 
        include developing training programs and activities that--
                    ``(A) emphasize care for Tribal, rural, or 
                medically underserved communities;
                    ``(B) are applicable to primary care practice with 
                respect to individuals from Tribal, rural, or medically 
                underserved communities;
                    ``(C) support the use of telehealth technologies 
                and practices;
                    ``(D) integrate mental health and substance use 
                disorder care into primary care practice, including 
                prevention and treatment of opioid use disorders and 
                other substance use disorders; and
                    ``(E) promote interdisciplinary training.
            ``(3) Increase the capacity of faculty to develop and 
        operate programs described in paragraph (2).
            ``(4) Develop or expand strategic partnerships, such as 
        public-private partnerships, to improve health outcomes for 
        individuals from Tribal, rural, and medically underserved 
        communities, which partnerships may include--
                    ``(A) federally recognized Tribes, Tribal Colleges 
                or Universities (as such term is defined in section 316 
                of the Higher Education Act of 1965), and Tribal 
                organizations (as such term is defined in section 4 of 
                the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
                Act);
                    ``(B) Federally-qualified health centers;
                    ``(C) rural health clinics;
                    ``(D) health facilities or programs operated by or 
                in accordance with a contract or grant with the Indian 
                Health Service; and
                    ``(E) primary care clinics.
            ``(5) Develop a plan, as appropriate, for followup with 
        graduates, including with respect to specialties, as 
        applicable.
            ``(6) Develop, implement, and evaluate methods to improve 
        recruitment and retention of medical students from Tribal, 
        rural, and medically underserved communities.
            ``(7) Train and support instructors to serve Tribal, rural, 
        and medically underserved communities.
            ``(8) Prepare medical students for transition into primary 
        care residency training and future practice.
            ``(9) Provide scholarships to medical students.
    ``(e) Grant Period.--A grant under this section shall be awarded 
for a period of not more than 5 years.
    ``(f) Grant Amount.--Each fiscal year, the amount of a grant made 
to an eligible entity under this section shall be not less than 
$1,000,000.
    ``(g) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary shall, as appropriate, 
require that an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section 
provide non-Federal matching funds, which may be in cash or in kind, in 
an amount equal to or greater than 10 percent of the total amount of 
Federal funds provided through the grant each fiscal year.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2023 through 2025.''.
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