Pub. L. 115-141, div. J, tit. II, sec. 246 (as amended)

SEC. 246. [38 U.S.C. 7601 note] (a) Pilot Program.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to provide educational assistance to certain former members of the Armed Forces for education and training as physician assistants of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (b) Eligible Individuals.—An individual is eligible to participate in the pilot program if the individual— (1) has medical or military health experience gained while serving as a member of the Armed Forces; (2) has received a certificate, associate degree, baccalaureate degree, master’s degree, or postbaccalaureate training in a science relating to health care; or (3) has participated in the delivery of healthcare services or related medical services, including participation in military training relating to the identification, evaluation, treatment, and prevention of diseases and disorders. (c) Duration.—The pilot program shall be carried out during the 5-year period beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (d) Selection.— (1) The Secretary shall select eligible individuals under subsection (b) to participate in the pilot program. (2) In selecting individuals to participate in the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to individuals who agree to be employed as a physician assistant for the Veterans Health Administration at a medical facility of the Department located in a community that— (A) is designated as a medically underserved population under section 330(b)(3)(A) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A)); and (B) is in a State with a per capita population of veterans of more than 5 percent according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics and the United States Census Bureau. (e) Educational Assistance.—In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall provide educational assistance to individuals participating in the pilot program, including through the use of scholarships, to cover the costs to such individuals of obtaining a master’s degree in physician assistant studies or a similar master’s degree. (f) Period of Obligated Service.—The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with each individual participating in the pilot program in which such individual agrees to be employed as a physician assistant for the Veterans Health Administration for a period of obligated service to be determined by the Secretary. (g) Breach.—An individual who participates in the pilot program and fails to satisfy the period of obligated service under subsection (f) shall be liable to the United States, in lieu of such obligated service, for the amount that has been paid or is payable to or on behalf of the individual under the pilot program, reduced by the proportion that the number of days served for completion of the period of obligated service bears to the total number of days in the period of obligated service of such individual. (h) Report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot program’s effectiveness of helping to meet the shortage of physician assistants employed by the Department.