NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS.

SEC. 301. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS. (a) In General.—Section 331 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254d) is amended— (1) by adding at the end of subsection (a)(3) the following: “(E)(i) The term ‘behavioral and mental health professionals’ means health service psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychiatric nurse specialists, and psychiatrists. “(ii) The term ‘graduate program of behavioral and mental health’ means a program that trains behavioral and mental health professionals.”; (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking “health professions” and inserting “health professions, including schools at which graduate programs of behavioral and mental health are offered,”; and (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting “behavioral and mental health professionals,” after “dentists,”; and (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: “(c)(1) The Secretary may reimburse an applicant for a position in the Corps (including an individual considering entering into a written agreement pursuant to section 338D) for the actual and reasonable expenses incurred in traveling to and from the applicant’s place of residence to an eligible site to which the applicant may be assigned under section 333 for the purpose of evaluating such site with regard to being assigned at such site. The Secretary may establish a maximum total amount that may be paid to an individual as reimbursement for such expenses. “(2) The Secretary may also reimburse the applicant for the actual and reasonable expenses incurred for the travel of 1 family member to accompany the applicant to such site. The Secretary may establish a maximum total amount that may be paid to an individual as reimbursement for such expenses. “(3) In the case of an individual who has entered into a contract for obligated service under the Scholarship Program or under the Loan Repayment Program, the Secretary may reimburse such individual for all or part of the actual and reasonable expenses incurred in transporting the individual, the individual’s family, and the family’s possessions to the site of the individual’s assignment under section 333. The Secretary may establish a maximum total amount 116 STAT. 1643that may be paid to an individual as reimbursement for such expenses.”. (b) Demonstration Projects.—Section 331 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254d) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (j); and (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following: “(i)(1) In carrying out subpart III, the Secretary may, in accordance with this subsection, carry out demonstration projects in which individuals who have entered into a contract for obligated service under the Loan Repayment Program receive waivers under which the individuals are authorized to satisfy the requirement of obligated service through providing clinical service that is not fulltime. “(2) A waiver described in paragraph (1) may be provided by the Secretary only if— “(A) the entity for which the service is to be performed— “(i) has been approved under section 333A for assignment of a Corps member; and “(ii) has requested in writing assignment of a health professional who would serve less than full time; “(B) the Secretary has determined that assignment of a health professional who would serve less than full time would be appropriate for the area where the entity is located; “(C) a Corps member who is required to perform obligated service has agreed in writing to be assigned for less than full-time service to an entity described in subparagraph (A); “(D) the entity and the Corps member agree in writing that the less than full-time service provided by the Corps member will not be less than 16 hours of clinical service per week; “(E) the Corps member agrees in writing that the period of obligated service pursuant to section 338B will be extended so that the aggregate amount of less than full-time service performed will equal the amount of service that would be performed through full-time service under section 338C; and “(F) the Corps member agrees in writing that if the Corps member begins providing less than full-time service but fails to begin or complete the period of obligated service, the method stated in 338E(c) for determining the damages for breach of the individual’s written contract will be used after converting periods of obligated service or of service performed into their full-time equivalents. “(3) In evaluating a demonstration project described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall examine the effect of multidisciplinary teams.”.