Expanding Medical Education Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4390 To establish a grant program to support schools of medicine and schools of osteopathic medicine in underserved areas. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 30, 2020 Mr. KAINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish a grant program to support schools of medicine and schools of osteopathic medicine in underserved areas. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Medical 4 Education Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4390 IS SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND SCHOOLS 1 OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE IN UNDER- 2 SERVED AREAS. 3 Subpart II of part C of title VII of the Public Health 4 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293m et seq.) is amended by add- 5 ing at the end the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 749C. GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND 7 SCHOOLS OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE IN UN- 8 DERSERVED AREAS. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 10 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 11 Administration, may award grants to institutions of high- 12 er education (including consortiums of such institutions) 13 for the establishment, improvement, or expansion of a 14 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or a branch 15 campus of a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine. 16 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients under 17 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to any insti- 18 tution of higher education (or consortium of such institu- 19 tions) that— 20 ‘‘(1) proposes to use the grant for the establish- 21 ment of a school of medicine or osteopathic medi- 22 cine, or a branch campus of a school of medicine or 23 osteopathic medicine, in an area— 24 ‘‘(A) in which no other such school is 25 based; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4390 IS ‘‘(B) that is a medically underserved com- 1 munity or a health professional shortage area; 2 or 3 ‘‘(2) is a minority-serving institution described 4 in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 5 1965. 6 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under 7 this section, the Secretary, to the extent practicable, may 8 ensure equitable distribution of awards among the geo- 9 graphical regions of the United States. 10 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An institution of higher edu- 11 cation (or a consortium of such institutions)— 12 ‘‘(1) shall use grant amounts received under 13 this section to— 14 ‘‘(A) recruit, enroll, and retain students, 15 including individuals who are from disadvan- 16 taged backgrounds (including racial and ethnic 17 groups underrepresented among medical stu- 18 dents and health professions), individuals from 19 rural and underserved areas, low-income indi- 20 viduals, and first generation college students, at 21 a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine or 22 branch campus of a school of medicine or osteo- 23 pathic medicine; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4390 IS ‘‘(B) develop, implement, and expand cur- 1 riculum that emphasizes care for rural and un- 2 derserved populations, including accessible and 3 culturally and linguistically appropriate care 4 and services, at such school or branch campus; 5 and 6 ‘‘(2) may use grant amounts received under this 7 section to— 8 ‘‘(A) plan and construct— 9 ‘‘(i) a school of medicine or osteo- 10 pathic medicine in an area in which no 11 other such school is based; or 12 ‘‘(ii) a branch campus of a school of 13 medicine or osteopathic medicine in an 14 area in which no other such school is 15 based; 16 ‘‘(B) plan, develop, and meet criteria for 17 accreditation for a school of medicine or osteo- 18 pathic medicine or branch campus of a school 19 of medicine or osteopathic medicine; 20 ‘‘(C) hire faculty, including faculty from 21 racial and ethnic groups who are underrep- 22 resented among the medical and other health 23 professions, and other staff to serve at such a 24 school or branch campus; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4390 IS ‘‘(D) support educational programs at such 1 a school or branch campus; 2 ‘‘(E) modernize and expand infrastructure 3 at such a school or branch campus; and 4 ‘‘(F) support other activities that the Sec- 5 retary determines further the establishment, 6 improvement, or expansion of a school of medi- 7 cine or osteopathic medicine or branch campus 8 of a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine. 9 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 10 under subsection (a), an institution of higher education 11 (or a consortium of such institutions), shall submit an ap- 12 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 13 and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 14 quire, including a description of the institution’s or con- 15 sortium’s planned activities described in subsection (d). 16 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.— 17 ‘‘(1) REPORTS FROM ENTITIES.—Each institu- 18 tion of higher education, or consortium of such insti- 19 tutions, awarded a grant under this section shall 20 submit an annual report to the Secretary on the ac- 21 tivities conducted under such grant, and other infor- 22 mation as the Secretary may require. 23 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 24 years after the date of enactment of this section and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4390 IS every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 1 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 2 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on En- 3 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 4 a report that provides a summary of the activities 5 and outcomes associated with grants made under 6 this section. Such reports shall include— 7 ‘‘(A) a list of awardees, including their pri- 8 mary geographic location, and location of any 9 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or a 10 branch campus of school of medicine or osteo- 11 pathic medicine that was established, improved, 12 or expanded under this program; 13 ‘‘(B) the total number of students (includ- 14 ing the number of students from racial and eth- 15 nic groups underrepresented among medical 16 students and health professions, low-income 17 students, and first generation college students) 18 who— 19 ‘‘(i) are enrolled at or who have grad- 20 uated from any school of medicine or os- 21 teopathic medicine, or a branch campus of 22 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, 23 that was established, improved, or ex- 24 panded under this program, deidentified 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4390 IS and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, 1 sex, geographic region, disability status, 2 and other relevant factors, to the extent 3 such information is available; and 4 ‘‘(ii) who subsequently participate in 5 an accredited internship or medical resi- 6 dency program upon graduation from any 7 school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, 8 or a branch campus of a school of medicine 9 or osteopathic medicine, that was estab- 10 lished, improved, or expanded under this 11 program, deidentified and disaggregated by 12 race, ethnicity, age, sex, geographic region, 13 disability status, medical specialty pursued, 14 and other relevant factors, to the extent 15 such information is available; 16 ‘‘(C) the effects of such program on the 17 health care provider workforce, including any 18 impact on demographic representation 19 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and sex, and 20 the fields or specialties pursued by students 21 who have graduated from any school of medi- 22 cine or osteopathic medicine, or a branch cam- 23 pus of school of medicine or osteopathic medi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4390 IS cine, that was established, improved, or ex- 1 panded under this program; 2 ‘‘(D) the effects of such program on health 3 care access in underserved areas, including 4 medically underserved communities and health 5 professional shortage areas; and 6 ‘‘(E) recommendations for improving the 7 program described in this section, and any 8 other considerations as the Secretary deter- 9 mines appropriate. 10 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 11 shall make reports submitted under paragraph (2) 12 publicly available on the internet website of the De- 13 partment of Health and Human Services. 14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 ‘‘(1) BRANCH CAMPUS.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘branch 17 campus’, with respect to a school of medicine or 18 osteopathic medicine, means an additional loca- 19 tion of such school that is geographically apart 20 and independent of the main campus, at which 21 the school offers at least 50 percent of the pro- 22 gram leading to a degree of doctor of medicine 23 or doctor of osteopathy that is offered at the 24 main campus. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4390 IS ‘‘(B) INDEPENDENCE FROM MAIN CAM- 1 PUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 2 location of a school described in such subpara- 3 graph shall be considered to be independent of 4 the main campus described in such subpara- 5 graph if the location— 6 ‘‘(i) is permanent in nature; 7 ‘‘(ii) offers courses in educational pro- 8 grams leading to a degree, certificate, or 9 other recognized educational credential; 10 ‘‘(iii) has its own faculty and adminis- 11 trative or supervisory organization; and 12 ‘‘(iv) has its own budgetary and hiring 13 authority. 14 ‘‘(2) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 15 The term ‘first generation college student’ has the 16 meaning given such term in section 402A(h)(3) of 17 the Higher Education Act of 1965. 18 ‘‘(3) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE 19 AREA.—The term ‘health professional shortage area’ 20 has the meaning given such term in section 332(a). 21 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 22 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 23 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 24 er Education Act of 1965. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4390 IS ‘‘(5) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.— 1 The term ‘medically underserved community’ has the 2 meaning given such term in section 799B(6). 3 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 4 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro- 5 priated $1,000,000,000, to remain available until ex- 6 pended.’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4390.IS S4390 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS