[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2984 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2984

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of 
permanent faculty in palliative care medicine at accredited allopathic 
   and osteopathic medical schools and to promote the development of 
   faculty careers as academic palliative specialists who emphasize 
                               teaching.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2004

   Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of 
permanent faculty in palliative care medicine at accredited allopathic 
   and osteopathic medical schools and to promote the development of 
   faculty careers as academic palliative specialists who emphasize 
                               teaching.

    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 ``Palliative Care Training Act''.

SEC. 2. PALLIATIVE CARE TRAINING PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 753 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 294c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Hospice and Palliative Care Academic Career Awards.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
        to provide Hospice and Palliative Care Academic Career Awards 
        to eligible individuals under this subsection.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive an Award 
        under this subsection, an individual shall--
                    ``(A) be board certified or board eligible in 
                internal medicine, family practice, or pediatrics and 
                their subspecialties including geriatrics, palliative 
                medicine, or other specialties as determined by the 
                Secretary;
                    ``(B) have completed an approved fellowship program 
                or demonstrated specialized experience in palliative 
                medicine as determined by the Secretary; and
                    ``(C) have a junior faculty appointment at an 
                accredited (as determined by the Secretary) school of 
                medicine (allopathic or osteopathic) and within an 
                internship or residency program that is approved by the 
                Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education or 
                the American Osteopathic Association.
            ``(3) Amount and term.--
                    ``(A) Amount.--The amount of an Award to an 
                individual under this subsection shall be equal to 
                $75,000 for fiscal year 2005, adjusted for subsequent 
                fiscal years to reflect the increase in the Consumer 
                Price Index.
                    ``(B) Term.--The term of any Award made under this 
                subsection shall not exceed 5 years.
            ``(4) Service requirement.--An individual who receives an 
        Award under this subsection shall provide training in hospice 
        care and palliative medicine, including the training of 
        interdisciplinary teams of health care professionals. The 
        provision of such training shall constitute at least 75 percent 
        of the obligations of such individual under the terms of the 
        Award.
            ``(5) Effective date.--This subsection shall take effect 90 
        days after the date of enactment of the Palliative Care 
        Training Act.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 757 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294g) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``through 2002'' and 
        inserting ``through 2010'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking ``$22,631,000'' 
        and inserting ``$55,779,000''; and
            (3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Geriatric education and training.--Of the amount made 
        available under subsection (b)(1)(C) for fiscal year 2005, the 
        Secretary may obligate for awards under subsections (a), (b), 
        and (c) of section 753 an amount not less than $31,805,000.''.
                                 <all>