Physician Shortage Minimization Act of 2016

Physician Shortage Minimization Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify, for employment tax purposes, certain physicians who provide medical services for a temporary period (locum tenens physicians) as independent contractors rather than as employees.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6276 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6276

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the treatment of 
 locum tenens physicians as independent contractors to help alleviate 
               physician shortages in underserved areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2016

   Mr. Tom Price of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the treatment of 
 locum tenens physicians as independent contractors to help alleviate 
               physician shortages in underserved areas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Physician Shortage Minimization Act 
of 2016''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF LOCUM TENENS PHYSICIANS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 25 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 3513. TREATMENT OF LOCUM TENENS PHYSICIANS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--For the purposes of the taxes and other 
obligations imposed by this title, in the case of services performed as 
a qualified locum tenens physician--
            ``(1) the individual performing such services shall not be 
        treated as an employee,
            ``(2) neither the persons for whom such services are 
        performed, nor any agency that contracts with a qualified locum 
        tenens physician, shall be treated as an employer,
            ``(3) any payor shall not be treated as an employer, and
            ``(4) the remuneration paid or received for such service 
        shall not be treated as paid or received with respect to 
        employment.
    ``(b) Qualified Locum Tenens Physician.--For purposes of this 
section, the term `qualified locum tenens physician' means an 
individual if--
            ``(1) such individual provides temporary physician services 
        as a locum tenens physician for a period of not more than one 
        continuous year (determined pursuant to the provisions of 
        section 162(a)) at a site of service,
            ``(2) such individual is--
                    ``(A) a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, dental 
                surgery, or dental medicine legally authorized to 
                practice medicine, surgery or dentistry in the State, 
                territory, or possession in which the individual 
                performs such services,
                    ``(B) a doctor of podiatric medicine or doctor of 
                optometry legally authorized to perform podiatric or 
                optometry functions in the State, territory, or 
                possession in which the individual performs such 
                services, or
                    ``(C) a physician, as defined in section 1861(r) of 
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r)) or section 
                8101(2) of title 5, United States Code, and
            ``(3) the services described in paragraph (1) performed by 
        the individual are performed pursuant to a written contract and 
        such contract provides that the individual will not be treated 
        as an employee with respect to such services for purposes of 
        this subtitle.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections of chapter 25 of 
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 3513. Treatment of locum tenens physicians.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to remuneration for services performed after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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