42 U.S.C. § 293k — Primary care training and enhancement

(a) Support and development of primary care training programs: (1) In general: The Secretary may give grants to, or contract with, an accredited public or nonprofit private hospital, school of medicine or osteopathic medicine, academically affiliated physician assistant training program, or another public or private nonprofit entity the Secretary determines is capable of carrying out the grant or contract, to: (A) plan, develop, operate, or take part in an accredited professional training program — including an accredited residency or internship program — in family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics, for medical students, interns, residents, or practicing physicians (as the Secretary defines these); (B) provide need-based financial assistance, in the form of traineeships and fellowships, to medical students, interns, residents, practicing physicians, or other medical personnel in such a program who plan to specialize or work in one of those fields; (C) plan, develop, and operate a program to train physicians who plan to teach in family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics training programs; (D) plan, develop, and operate a program to train physicians teaching in community-based settings; (E) provide financial assistance, as traineeships and fellowships, to physicians in such programs who plan to teach or do research in one of those fields; (F) plan, develop, and operate a physician assistant education program, and train individuals who will teach in such programs; (G) plan, develop, and operate a program that identifies or develops innovative models of care and trains primary care physicians in those models and in new competencies, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry and the National Health Care Workforce Commission established under section 294q of this title, which may include (i) training primary care physicians relevant to patient-centered medical homes (as the Secretary defines that term for this section), (ii) developing tools and curricula relevant to patient-centered medical homes, and (iii) providing continuing education to primary care physicians on patient-centered medical homes; and (H) plan, develop, and operate joint degree programs providing interdisciplinary and interprofessional graduate training in public health and other health professions, covering environmental health, infectious disease control, disease prevention and health promotion, epidemiological studies, and injury control. (2) Duration of awards: Payments to an entity under a grant or contract under this subsection are made over a period of 5 years. (3) Priorities in making awards: In awarding grants or contracts under paragraph (1), the Secretary may give priority to qualified applicants that train residents in rural areas, including for Tribes or Tribal Organizations in those areas. (b) Capacity building in primary care: (1) In general: The Secretary may give grants to, or contract with, accredited schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine to establish, maintain, or improve (A) academic units or programs that improve clinical teaching and research in the fields listed in subsection (a)(1)(A), or (B) programs that integrate academic administrative units in those fields to enhance interdisciplinary recruitment, training, and faculty development. (2) Preference in making awards under this subsection: The Secretary gives preference to qualified applicants that agree to spend the award on (A) establishing academic units or programs in the fields listed in subsection (a)(1)(A), or (B) substantially expanding such units or programs. (3) Priorities in making awards: The Secretary also gives priority to applicants that: (A) propose a collaborative project between academic administrative units of primary care; (B) propose innovative approaches to clinical teaching, using models such as the patient-centered medical home, team management of chronic disease, and interprofessional integrated models of health care incorporating transitions between health care settings and integrated physical and mental health care; (C) have a record of training the greatest percentage of providers — or have shown significant improvement in that percentage — who enter and remain in primary care practice; (D) have a record of training individuals from underrepresented minority groups, or from rural or disadvantaged backgrounds; (E) provide training in caring for vulnerable populations, such as children, older adults, homeless individuals, victims of abuse or trauma, individuals with mental health or substance use disorders, individuals with HIV/AIDS, and individuals with disabilities; (F) establish formal relationships and submit joint applications with federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, area health education centers, or clinics located in or serving underserved areas or populations; (G) teach trainees the skills to provide interprofessional, integrated care through collaboration among health professionals; (H) provide training in enhanced communication with patients, evidence-based practice, chronic disease management, preventive care, health information technology, or other competencies recommended by the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry and the National Health Care Workforce Commission established under section 294q of this title; or (I) provide training in cultural competency and health literacy. (4) Duration of awards: Payments to an entity under this subsection are also made over a period of 5 years. (c) Authorization of appropriations: (1) In general: Congress authorized $48,924,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to carry out this section, other than subsection (b)(1)(B). (2) Training programs: Fifteen percent of the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) for each such fiscal year is allocated to the physician assistant training programs described in subsection (a)(1)(F), which prepare students for practice in primary care. (3) Integrating academic administrative units: To carry out subsection (b)(1)(B), Congress authorized $750,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.