S 1380 119th Congress
SPARC Act
A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a loan repayment program to encourage specialty medicine physicians to serve in rural communities experiencing a shortage of specialty medicine physicians, and for other purposes.
Official Title as Introduced Congress.gov
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Bill journey
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Introduction Congress.gov
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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Introduced in Senate
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Introduced in Senate
A dated text-version record is available.
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Official action Congress.gov
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.
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| Date and time | Record | Official detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| IntroductionIntroduced | Introduced in the Senate. | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · Senate | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionIntroduced in Senate | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · Library of Congress · Code 10000 | Congress.gov | |
| Text versionIntroduced in Senate | A dated text-version record is available. | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionCommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held. | No additional detail supplied.Committee · Senate | Congress.gov |
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Congressional Research Service
CRS summary
Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care Act or the SPARC ActThis bill establishes student loan repayment programs to support the provision of specialty medical care in rural areas.The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) must carry out such a program for specialty medicine physicians (i.e., practicing in an area other than primary care) who provide care in rural communities with shortages of such physicians. Physicians must agree to a period of obligated service and, for each year of such service, HRSA must pay one-sixth of the principal payment and interest on eligible loans up to a maximum cap of $250,000. Additionally, HRSA may carry out a similar loan repayment program for nonphysician specialty health care providers.
Official documents
Text versions
- Introduced in SenateApr 9, 2025