Improving health is our policy
Sets forth the purpose of the title, which aims to improve the health care of individuals, particularly vulnerable populations, by: (1) gathering and assessing comprehensive data; (2) increasing the supply of a qualified health care workforce; (3) enhancing health care workforce education and training; and (4) providing support to the existing health care workforce.
Delineates the definitions of key terms used throughout Title V, such as health care career pathway; cultural competency; one-stop delivery system center; and so forth.
As revised by section 10501(a) of the Senate Manager's Amendment, directs the Comptroller General to establish a 15-member National Health Care Workforce Commission (“Commission”) by September 30, 2010. The Commission’s purpose is to, among other responsibilities, improve the coordination of health care workforce-related activities across federal departments and to make recommendations to the Congress and the Administration regarding national health care...
Directs HRSA, in consultation with the Health Care Workforce Commission, to establish a grant program to enable state partnerships to plan and implement comprehensive health care workforce development initiatives. With respect to planning grants, authorizes a maximum one-year $150,000 planning grant to state workforce investment boards to carry-out these activities, with a minimum 15% match from each state partnership recipient. ...
Establishes a National Center for Health Workforce (“the Center”) to, among other things, coordinate with the National Health Care Workforce Commission to provide for the development of information describing and analyzing the health care workforce and workforce related issues; and develop performance measures/benchmarks for and conduct annual evaluations of programs/grants authorized under Title V. Requires that grants be awarded at...
As revised by section 10501(b) of the Senate Manager’s Amendment, establishes an Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force to develop a strategy to improve the delivery of health care in Alaska.
Revises the criteria to the Primary Care Loan (PCL) program to make it easier for students and schools qualify for federally-supported student loan funds related to primary health care, such as by: (1) reducing the number of years for the primary health care service requirement; (2) lowering the interest rate for service default; and (3) eliminating the HHS requirement that...
Increases the amount of the loan agreements under the PHSA-authorized Nursing Student Loan Program (NSLP).
Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish a pediatric specialty loan repayment program to support certain pediatric providers, including certain mental and behavioral health providers. Qualifying individuals must commit to work in or for a provider serving a health professional shortage area (HPSA) or medically underserved area (MUA), or to serve a medically underserved population (MUP). Authorizes to be appropriated...
Establishes the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to address critical public health workforce shortages. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $195 million for FY 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each of FYs 2011-2015.
Establishes an Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program to support full-time allied health professionals serving in a federal, state, local, or tribal public health agency, or in other designated health care settings, such as acute care facilities, ambulatory care facilities, personal residences, and other settings located in HPSAs, MUAs, or to serve MUPs.
Provides for the the award of scholarships to mid-career public and allied health professionals employed in public and allied health positions at the federal, state, tribal, and local level who are interested in retraining or upgrading their education. Authorizes to be appropriated (though does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $60 million for FY2010 and such sums as may be...
Increases the appropriations (though does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation to fund the efforts) and extends the authorization of the NHSC workforce program for FYs 2010-2015 (with a specified methodology for amounts in FY 2016 and subsequent FYs). Specifically, the provision authorizes: $320 million in FY 2010; $414 million in FY 2011; $535 million in FY 2012; $691 million in...
Provides funding to support the development and operation of nurse-managed health clinics (NMHCs), which provide primary care or wellness services to underserved or vulnerable populations and that is associated with a school, college, university or department of nursing, federally qualified health center (FQHC), or independent nonprofit health or social services agency. The amount of the grants made available under this...
Strikes the cap on the [“not to exceed 2,800”] number of Commissioned Corps members.
Establishes a Regular Corps and Ready Reserve Corps for service in times of a national emergency. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $5 million for each of FYs 2010-2014 for the Commissioned Corps and $12.5 million for each of FYs 2010-2014 for the Ready Reserve Corps.
Provides that the Secretary of HHS may make five-year grants or contracts to an accredited public or nonprofit private hospital, school of medicine, or osteopathic medicine, academically affiliated physician assistant training program, or a public or private nonprofit entity to carry out primary care-focused training and enhancement, financial assistance, and other programs. Delineates certain preferences and priorities in the awards,...
Establishes a grant program to provide training to direct care workers employed in long-term care settings, such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for individuals with mental retardation, home and community based settings and other settings determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of HHS. Eligible entities include certain higher education institutions. Funded...
Re-designates a portion of the PHSA to include support and development of dental training programs. Toward this end, authorizes the Secretary of HHS to make five-year grants – subject to annual approval and funding availability – available to or enter into contracts with schools of dentistry, public or nonprofit private hospitals, or a public or private nonprofit entity deemed appropriate...
Provides that the Secretary of HHS may award 5-year (minimum $4 million) grants to conduct training programs to train or employ alternative dental health care providers (e.g., certain dental hygienists, primary care physicians, dental health aides, and so forth) with the goal of expanding access to dental services. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation)...
Requires the Secretary of HHS to make up to 24 awards – of up to $150,000 each – to geriatric education centers to carry out fellowship programs and other required activities. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $10.8 million for the FY 2011-2014 period for these geriatric education center grants. Also authorizes the expansion...
Provides that the Secretary of HHS may make grants available to higher education institutions for mental and behavioral health education and training programs (e.g., those relating to social work, psychology, etc.). Sets forth certain priority specifications relative to the awarding of such grants. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) for FYs 2010-2013: $8 million...
Expands the original authorization of PHSA cultural competency, prevention, and public health and individuals with disabilities training programs to require collaboration and dissemination (e.g., model curricula and evaluation components) criteria. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) such sums as may be necessary for each of FYs 2010-2015.
Revises PHSA advanced nursing education grant authorizing language to clarify that certain authorized nurse-midwifery programs are eligible for support under this grant program.
Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to award grants or contracts to accredited schools of nursing, health care facilities, or a partnership thereof to enhance the nursing workforce via nurse retention programs. Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a report prior to the end of each FY that includes an explanation of why each award will meet the priority need...
Revises the PHSA authorizing language pertaining to loan repayment and scholarship programs to include nurse faculty in an accredited school of nursing.
Increases and extends the amount of funding under the PHSA-authorized school of nursing student loan funding program. Establishes through HRSA a Nurse Faculty Loan program, which effectively requires awardees to, for a least 4 years during a given 6-year period, serve as a full-time faculty member of an accredited school of nursing. Specifies the amount of payments under this provision,...
Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $338 million for FY 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each of FYs 2011-2016 to support PHSA nursing programs.
Requires the CDC to award grants to public and nonprofit private entities (including states, hospitals, FQHCs, and others), to leverage community health workers in the promotion of positive health behaviors and outcomes for populations in medically underserved communities. Community health workers are required to, among other things, educate and provide outreach regarding enrollment in health insurance, including Medicare, Medicaid, and...
Provides the Secretary of HHS may implement initiatives to address documented workforce shortages – particularly in the areas of applied public health epidemiology and public health laboratory science and informatics – in state and local health departments. Also authorizes HHS to expand the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $39.5...
Establishes a United States Public Health Services Track at Secretarial-designated sites to grant advanced degrees with an emphasis on team-based service, public health, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness and response. Requires the Surgeon General to develop an integrated longitudinal plan for health professions continuing education and faculty development programs, in addition to making grants available to support continuing medical education (CME)...
As revised by section 10501(e) of the Senate Manager’s Amendment, directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a demonstration program to employ and provide one-year training (up to $600,000 per grant) for nurse practitioners (NPs) for careers as primary care providers in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and nurse-managed health clinics (NMHCs). Provides for technical assistance grants. Authorizes to be...
Reauthorizes the NIH’s Centers of Excellence (COE) program by expanding the funding allocation and authorizing to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $50 million for each of FYs 2010-2015 and such sums as are necessary for each subsequent FY. The COE program seeks to fund innovative resource and education centers to recruit, train, and retain underrepresented...
Reauthorizes for faculty loan repayments and fellowships via a direct appropriation in the amount of $5 million for each of FYs 2011-2014. Also reauthorizes educational assistance scholarships for disadvantaged students (SDS) via a direct appropriation of $60 million for FY 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for FYs 2011-2014.
Requires HHS to make available Infrastructure Development and Point of Service (POS) Maintenance and Enhancement awards under the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) programs. Among other things, the AHEC program aims to develop and implement strategies to recruit individuals from underrepresented minority, rural, or disadvantaged backgrounds into health professions. Specifies certain matching funds and other requirements, further noting that the...
Amends the application of PHSA-authorized nursing workforce diversity grants such that it now includes include stipends for diplomas completion programs or associate degree nurses to enter a bridge or degree completion programs, among other amended criteria.
As revised by section 10501(f) of the Senate Manager’s Amendment, requires AHRQ to establish a Primary Care Extension Program to support primary care providers. Specifically, the program aims to educate providers about preventive medicine and health promotion, among other things, such that these evidence-based practices can be integrated into their respective practices as well as in the broader community (via...
For primary care services furnished between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015, provides for a 10% increase/bonus to Medicare payments to qualifying primary care practitioners. For purposes of receipt of such increase, a “primary care practitioner” is an individual who: (1) is a physician with a primary specialty designation of family medicine, internal medicine, geriatric medicine, or pediatric medicine;...
As revised by section 10501(i)(1) of the Senate Manager’s Amendment, this provision was repealed; however, in a subsequent passage at section 10501(i)(3), the provision requires FQHCs to submit, not later than January 1, 2011, certain HCPCS information and other data required by the Secretary to assist HHS in the development and implementation of a FQHC PPS that will take effect...
Beginning with cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2011, provides for reductions in a hospital’s FTE resident caps for Medicare direct GME and IME for certain hospitals as well as a redistribution of such slots to other qualified hospitals. Requires that 70% of the resident slots be distributed to hospitals located in states with resident-to-population ratios in...
Amends requirements with respect to direct GME and IME, effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2010, such that all the time spent by the resident in a nonprovider setting will be counted towards the determination of full-time equivalency provided the hospital incurs the costs of the stipends and fringe benefits of the resident during the time...
Amends requirements such that the time spent in didactic conferences and seminars by an intern or resident may count toward direct GME in a nonprovider setting (beginning on or after July 1, 2009) and indirect GME in the provider setting (beginning on or after October 1, 2001). As revised by section 10501(j) of the Senate Manager's Amendment, specifies that these...
Requires the Secretary of HHS to develop a process that provides for the redistribution of residency slots in the case of certain hospitals with an approved medical residency program closing on or after March 23, 2008. Provides that these modifications not be made in a way that would necessitate the reopening of any settled hospital cost report for which there...
Requires HHS to consult with DOL to conduct demonstration projects to provide education and training to qualifying individuals in high-pay and high-demand health care occupations. Requires consultation and coordination with state TANF programs, as well as local and state workforce investment boards. Provides for certain assurances of such opportunities for Indian populations via explicit award information, as well as delineates...
Provides that the Secretary of HHS may award development grants to teaching health centers to establish new accredited or expanded primary care residency programs. Specifies that the grants may not be for more than 3 years in duration and may not exceed $500,000. Preference is to be given to applicants with existing affiliation(s) with an area health education center (AHEC). ...
Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish a Medicare Graduate Nurse Education program under which up to five qualifying hospitals would receive payment to provide clinical training to advance practice nurses. Calls for a report to Congress evaluating the program by October 1, 2017. Appropriates $50 million for each of FYs 2012-2015 to carry out the demonstration.
Authorizes to be appropriated (though does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) for grants to FQHCs roughly the following: $3 billion for FY 2010; $4 billion for FY 2011; $5 billion for FY 2012; $6 billion for FY 2013; $7 billion for FY 2014; $8 billion for FY 2015. Specifies an applicable formula relative to the appropriations for FYs 2016...
Through a negotiated rulemaking process that must commence by May 8, 2010, requires the Secretary of HHS to develop (and ultimately publish via an interim final rule by July 1, 2010) a comprehensive methodology and criteria for the designation of: medically underserved populations (MUPs); and health professions shortage areas (HPSAs). Specifies certain reporting requirements of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (“Committee”)...
Reauthorizes the Wakefield Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program, which provides grants to support emergency medical services for children and adolescents, via an extension of the appropriation for FY 2010 ($25 million); FY 2011 ($26.3 million); FY 2012 ($27.6 million); FY 2013 ($28.9 million); and FY 2014 ($30.4 million).
Requires the Secretary of HHS to award grants and cooperative agreements to community mental health programs to provide coordinated and integrated services to special populations through the co-location of primary and specialty care services in community-based mental health and behavioral health settings. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) $50 million for FY 2010 and...
Calls for the establishment of an 8-member Commission on Key National Indicators at the National Academy of Sciences for whom such members must be appointed by April 23, 2010. Specifies reporting requirements and duties of the Commission, as well as calls for a GAO study on best practices for a key national indicator system. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does...
As revised by section 10501(k) of the Senate Manager's Amendment, provides that states may award grants to health care providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations or other special populations. Stipulates that Medicaid and Medicare expenditures (among other expenditures) may not be used to fund these grants via the award or through administrative costs.
Requires the Secretary of HHS to submit annual reports to Congress on the activities carried out under Title V of the ACA and the effectiveness of such activities. Authorizes the Secretary to require, as condition of receipt of funds under this title, that the entity receiving the award submit reports to HHS.
Requires the CDC to establish a national diabetes prevention program that is geared toward adults at high risk for diabetes. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a separate Congressional appropriation) such sums as may be necessary for each of FYs 2010-2014. For more information on the program, see here and here.
Requires HRSA to establish a workforce grant program to assist eligible entities (i.e., schools of allopathic or osteopathic medicine or consortium thereof) in recruiting students most likely to practice medicine in underserved rural communities. Requires the Secretary to promulgate a regulation defining “underserved rural community” by May 23, 2010. Contains explicit MOE provisions. Authorizes to be appropriated (but does not delineate a...
Directs HRSA to consult with CDC in awarding grants (or contracts) to train graduate medical residents in preventive medicine specialties. Accredited schools of public health or school of medicine or osteopathic medicine; accredited public or private nonprofit hospitals; state, local, or tribal health departments; or a consortium of two or more of these entities qualify to apply. Specifies an annual...
Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to issue waivers to individuals who have entered into a contract for obligated service under the Scholarship Program or the Loan Repayment Program under which the individuals are authorized to satisfy the requirement of obligated service through providing clinical practice that is half time.
Appropriates $100 million to HHS for FY 2010 to be used toward certain infrastructure costs (including debt service, direct construction or renovation) for health care facilities that provide research, inpatient tertiary care, or outpatient clinical services. Stipulates, among other requirements, that the qualifying facility be affiliated with an academic health center at a US public research university that contains a...
Establishes a Community Health Center Fund within the Office of the Secretary (OS) at HHS to support investments in community health centers (CHCs). As revised by section 2303 of HCREA, appropriates the following to the CHC Fund: $1 billion for FY 2011; $1.2 billion for FY 2012; $1.5 billion for FY 2013; $2.2 billion for FY 2014; and $3.6 billion...
Directs HRSA to establish by September 23, 2010 a 3-year, 10-state demonstration project (up to $2 million max awards) to expand access to health care for the uninsured. State-based, nonprofit, public private partnerships that provide access to comprehensive health care services to the uninsured at reduced fees are eligible to apply. Requires the Secretary of HHS to evaluate whether to...
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