Bill Summary
The Allied Health Personnel Shortage Act of 2020 is a bill that aims to address the shortage of allied health professionals in the United States. This includes creating a scholarship and loan repayment program for individuals pursuing a degree in a health care-related field at a school of allied health. In return, these individuals must agree to work in a designated health professional shortage area for a certain period of time. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, will also identify and publish a list of categories of allied health professionals that are in shortage. This legislation also defines what qualifies as an allied health professional and specifies that they must be authorized to provide health care services under Medicare and Medicaid. Overall, this bill aims to increase the number of allied health professionals in areas with shortages through financial assistance and targeted identification of needed professions.
Possible Impacts
1. The Allied Health Personnel Shortage Act of 2020 could potentially provide scholarships and loan repayment programs for individuals pursuing degrees in allied health fields. This would affect people by making it easier for them to afford education and training in these fields, potentially increasing the number of allied health professionals available to provide healthcare services.
2. The Act could also require allied health professionals to complete a period of obligated service in designated shortage areas. This could affect people by limiting their job options and potentially requiring them to relocate to these shortage areas in order to fulfill their service obligation.
3. The Act may also have an impact on the availability and accessibility of healthcare services, as it aims to address the shortage of allied health professionals. This could affect people by potentially improving their access to healthcare or causing longer wait times for appointments if there are still shortages in certain areas.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6302 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6302
To amend the Public Health Service Act to respond to the shortage of
allied health professionals, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 19, 2020
Mr. Cicilline introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to respond to the shortage of
allied health professionals, 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 ``Allied Health Personnel Shortage Act
of 2020''.
SEC. 2. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS.
(a) Scholarships and Loan Repayments.--The Public Health Service
Act is amended by inserting after section 755 of such Act (42 U.S.C.
294e) the following:
``SEC. 755A. SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR ALLIED HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program of
entering into agreements with individuals under which--
``(1) the Secretary agrees--
``(A) to award a scholarship to the individual to
pursue a degree in a science relating to health care at
a school of allied health; or
``(B) to pay the principal, interest, and related
expenses on government and commercial loans received by
the individual to pursue such a degree at a school of
allied health; and
``(2) the individual agrees to complete a period of
obligated service as an allied health professional in--
``(A) a health professional shortage area
designated under section 332; or
``(B) an area designated by the Secretary for
purpose of this section as having a shortage of allied
health professionals.
``(b) Applicable Provisions.--The Secretary shall model--
``(1) the scholarship program under subsection (a) on the
provisions applicable to the National Health Service Corps
Scholarship Program under subpart III of part D of title III;
and
``(2) the loan repayment program under subsection (a) on
the provisions applicable to the National Health Service Corps
Loan Repayment Program under such subpart.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2021 through 2025.''.
(b) Response to Shortage of Qualifying Allied Health
Professionals.--
(1) In general.--Beginning 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in collaboration with the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, shall--
(A) identify categories of qualifying allied health
professionals which are in shortage; and
(B) annually publish a list of such categories in
the Federal Register.
(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) The term ``allied health professional'' has the
meaning given to the term ``allied health
professionals'' in section 799B(5) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p(5)).
(B) The term ``qualifying allied health
professional'' means an allied health professional who
is authorized to provide health care services under the
Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social
Security Act and under the Medicaid programs under
title XIX of such Act.
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