Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2017

Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2017

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. The bill makes physical therapists eligible for repayment of their educational loans in order to ensure an adequate supply of physical therapists.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1639 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1639

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the participation 
   of physical therapists in the National Health Service Corps Loan 
               Repayment Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2017

  Mr. Shimkus (for himself and Ms. DeGette) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the participation 
   of physical therapists in the National Health Service Corps Loan 
               Repayment Program, 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 ``Physical Therapist Workforce and 
Patient Access Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS; PARTICIPATION OF PHYSICAL 
              THERAPISTS IN LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Mission of Corps; Definition of Primary Health Services.--
Section 331(a)(3)(D) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
254d(a)(3)(D)) is amended by striking ``or mental health,'' and 
inserting ``mental health, or physical therapy,''.
    (b) Loan Repayment Program.--Section 338B of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l-1) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``and physician 
        assistants;'' and inserting ``physician assistants, and 
        physical therapists;''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the 
                semicolon the following: ``, or have a doctoral or 
                master's degree in physical therapy'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``physical 
                therapy,'' after ``mental health,''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by inserting 
                ``physical therapy,'' after ``dentistry,''.
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