HEALTH PROFESSIONS.

SEC. 102. HEALTH PROFESSIONS. (a) Recruitment Program.—Section 102(a) of the Act (25 U.S.C. 1612(a)) is amended— (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: “(1) identifying Indians with a potential for education or training in the health professions and encouraging and assisting them— “(A) to enroll in courses of study in such health professions; or “(B) if they are not qualified to enroll in any such courses of study, to undertake such postsecondary education or training as may be required to qualify them for enrollment;”; (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) by striking out “school” both places it appears and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “course of study”; and (B) by striking out “clause (1)(A)” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “paragraph (1)”; and(3) in paragraph (3)— (A) by striking out “Indians,” and inserting in lieu thereof “Indians in,”; (B) by inserting a comma before “courses”; (C) by striking out “, in any school”; and (D) by striking out “clause (1)(A)” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “paragraph (1)”. (b) Preparatory Scholarship Program.—Section 103 of the Act (25 U.S.C. 1613) is amended— (1) by amending subsection (a)(2) to read as follows: “(2) have demonstrated the capability to successfully complete courses of study in the health professions.”; (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting before the period at the end the following: “on a full-time basis (or the part-time equivalent thereof, as determined by the Secretary)”; (3) by amending subsection (b)(2) to read as follows: 106 STAT. 4531 “(2) Pregraduate education of any grantee leading to a baccalaureate degree in an approved course of study preparatory to a field of study in a health profession, such scholarship not to exceed 4 years (or the part-time equivalent thereof, as determined by the Secretary),”; (4) in subsection (c), by striking out “full time”; and (5) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows: “(e) The Secretary shall not deny scholarship assistance to an eligible applicant under this section solely by reason of such applicant’s eligibility for assistance or benefits under any other Federal program.”. (c) Health Professions Scholarships.—Section 104 of the Act (25 U.S.C. 1613a) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking out “Indian communities” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “Indians, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations”; (B) by striking out “full time” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “full or part time”; and (C) by striking out “of medicine” and all that follows through “social work” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “and pursuing courses of study in the health professions”; (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking out “full time” and inserting in lieu thereof “full or part time”; and (ii) by striking out “health profession school” and inserting in lieu thereof “course of study”; (B) in paragraph (3)— (i) by striking “(3)” and inserting “(3)(A)”; (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) as clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv), respectively; and (iii) by inserting at the end the following new subparagraphs: “(B) A recipient of an Indian Health Scholarship may, at the election of the recipient, meet the active duty service obligation prescribed under section 338C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254m) by service in a program specified in subparagraph (A) that— “(i) is located on the reservation of the tribe in which the recipient is enrolled; or “(ii) serves the tribe in which the recipient is enrolled. “(C) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary, in making assignments of Indian Health Scholarship recipients required to meet the active duty service obligation prescribed under section 338C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254m), shall give priority to assigning individuals to service in those programs specified in subparagraph (A) that have a need for health professionals to provide health care services as a result of individuals having breached contracts entered into under this section.”; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(1) In the case of an individual receiving a scholarship under this section who is enrolled part time in an approved course of study— 106 STAT. 4532 “(A) such scholarship shall be for a period of years not to exceed the part-time equivalent of 4 years, as determined by the Secretary; “(B) the period of obligated service specified in section 338A(f)(1)(B)(iv) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254m(f)(1)(B)(iv)) shall be equal to the greater of— “(i) the part-time equivalent of one year for each year for which the individual was provided a scholarship (as determined by the Secretary); or “(ii) two years; and “(C) the amount of the monthly stipend specified in section 338A(g)(1)(B) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254m(g)(1)(B)) shall be reduced pro rata (as determined by the Secretary) based on the number of hours such student is enrolled.”; (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows: “(c) The Secretary shall, acting through the Service, establish a Placement Office to develop and implement a national policy for the placement, to available vacancies within the Service, of Indian Health Scholarship recipients required to meet the active duty service obligation prescribed under section 338C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254m) without regard to any competitive personnel system, agency personnel limitation, or Indian preference policy.”; and (4) by striking out subsection (d). (d) Effective Date.—The amendments made by subsection (c)(1)(C) and subsection (c)(2)(B) shall apply with respect to scholarships granted under section 104 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act after the date of the enactment of this Act. (e) Extern Program.—Section 105 of the Act (25 U.S.C. 1614) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking out “section 757 of the Public Health Service Act” and inserting in lieu thereof “section 104”; and (2) in subsection (b), by striking out “school of medicine” and all that follows through “health professions”; and inserting in lieu thereof “course of study in the health professions”.