HARRISBURG, PA — Legislation expanding Pennsylvania’s National Guard tuition reimbursement program to include Army Judge Advocate General officers, chaplains and additional health-related positions has passed the General Assembly unanimously and is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro for consideration.
House Bill 1102, sponsored by state Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, would broaden eligibility under the Commonwealth’s existing Medical Officer and Health Officer Incentive Program by extending partial tuition reimbursements to additional hard-to-fill National Guard specialties. Pielli’s office announced the bill’s passage.
The legislation also updates the list of eligible medical and health officer positions and establishes a tiered reimbursement structure based on educational attainment to help offset the cost of advanced degrees required for those roles.
Pennsylvania created the Medical Officer and Health Officer Incentive Program through Act 78 of 2014 to encourage skilled medical professionals to join the Pennsylvania National Guard.
According to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the program has helped some medical officer positions reach full staffing levels. However, the agency determined the original law excluded several key medical and health officer positions as well as JAG officers and chaplains.
“The ever-rising costs of education and training, and the need to recruit even more skilled professionals into the National Guard, have shown us that we should expand the current program to cover additional critical areas beyond the medical field,” Pielli said. “This requested legislation will fine-tune and expand the program to incentivize recruitment to better serve both our commonwealth’s interests and our national security.”
Pielli also credited state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, who sponsored the measure in the Senate, and lawmakers in both chambers for supporting the proposal.
The bill cleared both the Pennsylvania House and Senate without opposition and now awaits the governor’s signature.
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