To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to strengthen the mental health workforce, and for other purposes.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3760 To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to strengthen the mental health workforce, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 31, 2023 Mr. CARTER of Louisiana (for himself, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. IVEY, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. BROWN, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. JACKSON of Illi- nois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CARSON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MFUME, Mr. CLYBURN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. KELLY of Illi- nois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to strengthen the mental health workforce, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3760 IH SECTION 1. STRENGTHENING THE MENTAL HEALTH WORK- 1 FORCE. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title VII of the Public 3 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293 et seq.) is amended 4 by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 742. STRENGTHENING THE MENTAL HEALTH WORK- 6 FORCE. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 8 and carry out a mental health provider loan deferment and 9 forgiveness program under which the eligible individual 10 agrees to be employed full-time for a period of at least 11 5 years (beginning on the date on which the individual 12 graduates from medical school) in providing mental and 13 behavioral health care, including substance abuse preven- 14 tion and treatment services— 15 ‘‘(1) as a solo practitioner— 16 ‘‘(A) at least 30 percent of the patients of 17 which are individuals receiving medical assist- 18 ance under a State plan under title XIX of the 19 Social Security Act (or a waiver of such plan); 20 and 21 ‘‘(B) at least 50 percent of the patients of 22 which are members of a racial and ethnic mi- 23 nority group (as defined in section 1707); or 24 ‘‘(2) at an institution that accepts patients de- 25 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) and at which at least 50 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3760 IH percent of the patients served by the institution are 1 members of a racial and ethnic minority group (as 2 defined in section 1707). 3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—Through the pro- 4 gram established under this section, the Secretary shall 5 enter into contracts with eligible individuals under 6 which— 7 ‘‘(1) such eligible individuals will agree to pro- 8 vide mental and behavioral health care services as 9 described in subsection (a); 10 ‘‘(2) the Secretary agrees that periodic install- 11 ments of the principal of an eligible loan need not 12 be paid, but interest shall accrue and be paid, dur- 13 ing any period during which the borrower is em- 14 ployed as described in subsection (a); and 15 ‘‘(3) the Secretary, through the holder of the 16 loan, will assume the obligation to repay the lesser 17 of 100 percent or $200,000 of the total amount of 18 principal and interest of an eligible loan, that are 19 outstanding as of the day immediately preceding the 20 first day of the first year of service (as described in 21 subsection (a)), for an eligible individual, who— 22 ‘‘(A) has been employed as described in 23 subsection (a) for 5 consecutive years; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3760 IH ‘‘(B) is not in default on a loan for which 1 the individual seeks forgiveness. 2 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible individual’ means an in- 4 dividual who— 5 ‘‘(A)(i) has been accepted for enrollment, 6 or be enrolled, as a student in a minority-serv- 7 ing institution eligible to receive funding under 8 section 371 of the Higher Education Act of 9 1965 in a course of study or program leading 10 to a mental or behavioral health professions de- 11 gree or certificate; or 12 ‘‘(ii) is completing training hours under 13 clinical supervision for purposes of obtaining 14 such a degree or certificate; and 15 ‘‘(B) has accepted employment as de- 16 scribed in subsection (a), to commence upon 17 graduation. 18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘eligible loan’ means— 19 ‘‘(A) any loan for education or training for 20 mental and behavioral health care, including 21 substance abuse prevention and treatment, em- 22 ployment; 23 ‘‘(B) any Federal Direct Stafford Loan, 24 Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Direct 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3760 IH Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or Federal Direct 1 Consolidation Loan (as such terms are used in 2 section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 3 1965); 4 ‘‘(C) any Federal Perkins Loan under part 5 E of title I of the Higher Education Act of 6 1965; and 7 ‘‘(D) any other Federal loan as determined 8 appropriate by the Secretary.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3760.IH H3760 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS