GENERAL PROVISIONS.

SEC. 616. GENERAL PROVISIONS. (a) Minimum Amount of Grant for Certain Grantees.—Section 790 (42 U.S.C. 295g–10) is amended— (1) in paragraph (3), by striking “The amount” and inserting the following: “Except as provided in paragraph (4), the amount”; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(4) With respect to grants under any of sections 780,784, 785, and 786 for fiscal year 1989 and subsequent fiscal years, if an entity has been a grantee under the section involved for two consecutive fiscal years and the Secretary approves an application under such section from the entity for any subsequent consecutive fiscal year, the amount of the grant for such fiscal year may not be less than an amount equal to 20 percent of the average of the amounts received under such section by the entity for the consecutively preceding fiscal years.”. (b) Requirement of Peer Review for Certain Programs.—Section 790 (42 U.S.C. 295g–10), as amended by subsection (a) of this section, is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(5)(A) Each application for a grant under any of sections 784 through 786 shall be submitted to a peer review group for an evaluation of the merits of the proposals made in the evalua-102 STAT. 3139tion. Each application for a grant under section 780 may be submitted to such peer review group for such an evaluation. “(B) The Secretary shall establish such peer review groups as may be necessary to carry out subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall make appointments to the peer review groups from among appropriately qualified persons who are not officers or employees of the United States. “(C) With respect to applications referred to in subparagraph (A), a peer review group established pursuant to such subparagraph shall report its findings and recommendations to the Secretary. The Secretary may not approve such an application unless a peer review group has recommended the application for approval. “(D) This paragraph shall be carried out by the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.”. (c) Certain Provisions With Respect to Hispanic Individuals ind Other Members of Minority Groups.— (1) Section 7O8(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 292h(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: “Such studies shall include studies determining by specialty and geographic location the number of health professionals (including allied health professionals and health care administration personnel! who are members of minority groups, including Hispanics, and studies providing by specialty and geographic location evaluations and projections of the supply of, and requirements for, health professionals (including allied health professionals and health care administration personnel) to serve minority groups, including Hispanics.”. (2)(A) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct a study for the purpose of determining— (i)(I) the extent to which health care is being provided to Hispanic individuals in medically underserved areas by health care professionals who are unable to communicate with such individuals in the most appropriate language and cultural context; and (II) whether the extent of the provision of health care to Hispanic individuals by such health care professionals is detrimental to the health of such individuals; and (ii)(I) the extent to which Hispanic individuals in medically underserved areas rely on allied health personnel as the primary source of health care; (II) whether the extent of such reliance is detrimental to the health of such individuals; and (III) if the extent of such reliance is detrimental to such Individuals, whether area health education center programs (as defined in section 781(g), as redesignated by section 608(c)(1) of this Act) can be utilized with respect to providing appropriate health care to such individuals. (B) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, complete the study required in subparagraph (a) and submit to the Congress a report describing the findings made as a result of the study.