[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6602-H6605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING ACT
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1676) to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the
number of permanent faculty in palliative care at accredited allopathic
and osteopathic medical schools, nursing schools, social work schools,
and other programs, including physician assistant education programs,
to promote education and research in palliative care and hospice, and
to support the development of faculty careers in academic palliative
medicine, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1676
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 and Hospice
Education and Training Act''.
SEC. 2. PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING.
(a) In General.--Part D of title VII of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after section 759 the following:
``SEC. 759A. PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION AND
TRAINING.
``(a) Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants or
contracts under this section to entities described in
paragraph (1), (3), or (4) of section 799B, and section
801(2), for the establishment or operation of Palliative Care
and Hospice Education Centers that meet the requirements of
paragraph (2).
``(2) Requirements.--A Palliative Care and Hospice
Education Center meets the requirements of this paragraph if
such Center--
``(A) improves the interprofessional team-based training of
health professionals in palliative care, including
residencies, traineeships, or fellowships;
``(B) develops and disseminates interprofessional team-
based curricula relating to the palliative treatment of the
complex health problems of individuals with serious or life-
threatening illnesses;
``(C) supports the training and retraining of faculty to
provide instruction in interprofessional team-based
palliative care;
``(D) supports interprofessional team-based continuing
education of health professionals who provide palliative care
to patients with serious or life-threatening illness;
``(E) provides students (including residents, trainees, and
fellows) with clinical training in interprofessional team-
based palliative care in appropriate health settings,
including hospitals, hospices, home care, long-term care
facilities, and ambulatory care centers;
``(F) establishes traineeships for individuals who are
preparing for advanced education nursing degrees, social work
degrees, or advanced degrees in physician assistant studies,
with a focus in interprofessional team-based palliative care
in appropriate health settings, including hospitals,
hospices, home care, long-term care facilities, and
ambulatory care centers;
``(G) supports collaboration between multiple specialty
training programs (such as medicine, nursing, social work,
physician assistant, chaplaincy, and pharmacy) and clinical
training sites to provide training in interprofessional team-
based palliative care; and
``(H) does not duplicate the activities of existing
education centers funded under this section or under section
753 or 865.
``(3) Expansion of existing centers.--Nothing in this
section shall be construed to--
``(A) prevent the Secretary from providing grants to expand
existing education centers, including geriatric education
centers established under section 753 or 865, to provide for
education and training focused specifically on palliative
care, including for non-geriatric populations; or
``(B) limit the number of education centers that may be
funded in a community.
``(b) Palliative Medicine Physician Training.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may make grants to, and
enter into contracts with, schools of medicine, schools of
osteopathic medicine, teaching hospitals, and graduate
medical education programs for the purpose of providing
support for projects that fund the training of physicians
(including residents, trainees, and fellows) who plan to
teach palliative medicine.
``(2) Requirements.--Each project for which a grant or
contract is made under this subsection shall--
``(A) be staffed by full-time teaching physicians who have
experience or training in interprofessional team-based
palliative medicine;
``(B) be based in a hospice and palliative medicine
fellowship program accredited by the Accreditation Council
for Graduate Medical Education;
``(C) provide training in interprofessional team-based
palliative medicine through a variety of service rotations,
such as consultation services, acute care services, extended
care facilities, ambulatory care and comprehensive evaluation
units, hospices, home care, and community care programs;
``(D) develop specific performance-based measures to
evaluate the competency of trainees; and
``(E) provide training in interprofessional team-based
palliative medicine through one or both of the training
options described in paragraph (3).
``(3) Training options.--The training options referred to
in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) are as follows:
``(A) 1-year retraining programs in hospice and palliative
medicine for physicians who are faculty at schools of
medicine and osteopathic medicine, or others determined
appropriate by the Secretary.
``(B) 1- or 2-year training programs that are designed to
provide training in interprofessional team-based hospice and
palliative medicine for physicians who have completed
graduate medical education programs in any medical specialty
leading to board eligibility in hospice and palliative
medicine pursuant to the American Board of Medical
Specialties.
``(4) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term `graduate medical education' means a program sponsored
by a school of medicine, a school of osteopathic medicine, a
hospital, or a public or private institution that--
``(A) offers postgraduate medical training in the
specialties and subspecialties of medicine; and
``(B) has been accredited by the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic
Association through its Committee on Postdoctoral Training.
``(c) Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career
Awards.--
``(1) Establishment of program.--The Secretary shall
establish a program to provide awards, to be known as the
`Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards', to
eligible individuals to promote the career development of
such individuals as academic hospice and palliative care
physicians.
``(2) Eligible individuals.--To be eligible to receive an
award under paragraph (1), an individual shall--
``(A) be board certified or board eligible in hospice and
palliative medicine; and
``(B) have a junior (non-tenured) faculty appointment at an
accredited (as determined by the Secretary) school of
medicine or osteopathic medicine.
``(3) Limitations.--No award under paragraph (1) may be
made to an eligible individual unless the individual--
``(A) has submitted to the Secretary an application, at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require, and the Secretary has approved
such application;
``(B) provides, in such form and manner as the Secretary
may require, assurances that the individual will meet the
service requirement described in paragraph (6); and
``(C) provides, in such form and manner as the Secretary
may require, assurances that the individual has a full-time
faculty appointment in a health professions institution and
documented commitment from such institution to spend a
majority of the total funded time of such individual on
teaching and developing skills in education in
interprofessional team-based palliative care.
``(4) Maintenance of effort.--An eligible individual who
receives an award under paragraph (1) shall provide
assurances to the Secretary that funds provided to the
eligible individual under this subsection will be used only
to supplement, not to supplant, the amount of Federal, State,
and local funds otherwise expended by the eligible
individual.
``(5) Amount and term.--
``(A) Amount.--The amount of an award under this subsection
shall be equal to the award amount provided for under section
753(c)(5)(A) for the fiscal year involved.
[[Page H6603]]
``(B) Term.--The term of an award made under this
subsection shall not exceed 5 years.
``(C) Payment to institution.--The Secretary shall make
payments for awards under this subsection to institutions,
including schools of medicine and osteopathic medicine.
``(6) Service requirement.--An individual who receives an
award under this subsection shall provide training in
palliative care and hospice, including the training of
interprofessional teams of health care professionals. The
provision of such training shall constitute a majority of the
total funded obligations of such individual under the award.
``(d) Palliative Care Workforce Development.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants or
contracts under this subsection to entities that operate a
Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center pursuant to
subsection (a)(1).
``(2) Application.--To be eligible for an award under
paragraph (1), an entity described in such paragraph shall
submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts awarded under a grant or
contract under paragraph (1) shall be used to carry out the
fellowship program described in paragraph (4).
``(4) Fellowship program.--
``(A) In general.--Pursuant to paragraph (3), a Palliative
Care and Hospice Education Center that receives an award
under this subsection shall use such funds to offer short-
term intensive courses (referred to in this subsection as a
`fellowship') that focus on interprofessional team-based
palliative care that provide supplemental training for
faculty members in medical schools and other health
professions schools with programs in psychology, pharmacy,
nursing, social work, physician assistant education,
chaplaincy, or other health disciplines, as approved by the
Secretary. Such a fellowship shall be open to current
faculty, and appropriately credentialed volunteer faculty and
practitioners, who do not have formal training in palliative
care, to upgrade their knowledge and clinical skills for the
care of individuals with serious or life-threatening illness
and to enhance their interdisciplinary and interprofessional
teaching skills.
``(B) Location.--A fellowship under this paragraph shall be
offered either at the Palliative Care and Hospice Education
Center that is sponsoring the course, in collaboration with
other Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers, or at
medical schools, schools of nursing, schools of pharmacy,
schools of social work, schools of chaplaincy or pastoral
care education, graduate programs in psychology, physician
assistant education programs, or other health professions
schools approved by the Secretary with which the Centers are
affiliated.
``(C) Continuing education credit.--Participation in a
fellowship under this paragraph shall be accepted with
respect to complying with continuing health profession
education requirements. As a condition of such acceptance,
the recipient shall subsequently provide a minimum of 18
hours of voluntary instruction in palliative care content
(that has been approved by a palliative care and hospice
education center) to students or trainees in health-related
educational, home, hospice, or long-term care settings.
``(5) Targets.--A Palliative Care and Hospice Education
Center that receives an award under paragraph (1) shall meet
targets approved by the Secretary for providing training in
interprofessional team-based palliative care to a certain
number of faculty or practitioners during the term of the
award, as well as other parameters established by the
Secretary.
``(6) Amount of award.--Each award under paragraph (1)
shall be in the amount of $150,000. Not more than 24
Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers may receive an
award under such paragraph.
``(7) Maintenance of effort.--A Palliative Care and Hospice
Education Center that receives an award under paragraph (1)
shall provide assurances to the Secretary that funds provided
to the Center under the award will be used only to
supplement, not to supplant, the amount of Federal, State,
and local funds otherwise expended by such Center.
``(e) Palliative Care and Hospice Career Incentive
Awards.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants or
contracts under this subsection to individuals described in
paragraph (2) to foster greater interest among a variety of
health professionals in entering the field of palliative
care.
``(2) Eligible individuals.--To be eligible to receive an
award under paragraph (1), an individual shall--
``(A) be an advanced practice nurse, a social worker,
physician assistant, pharmacist, chaplain, or student of
psychology who is pursuing a doctorate, masters, or other
advanced degree with a focus in interprofessional team-based
palliative care or related fields in an accredited health
professions school; and
``(B) submit to the Secretary an application at such time,
in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
``(3) Conditions of award.--As a condition of receiving an
award under paragraph (1), an individual shall agree that,
following completion of the award period, the individual will
teach or practice palliative care in health-related
educational, home, hospice, or long-term care settings for a
minimum of 5 years under guidelines established by the
Secretary.
``(4) Payment to institution.--The Secretary shall make
payments for awards under paragraph (1) to institutions that
include schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing,
social work, psychology, chaplaincy or pastoral care
education, dentistry, and pharmacy, or other allied health
discipline in an accredited health professions school or
program (such as a physician assistant education program)
that is approved by the Secretary.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,
$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2019 through
2023.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section
shall be effective beginning on the date that is 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE NURSING.
(a) Nurse Education, Practice, and Quality Grants.--Section
831(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
296p(b)(3)) is amended by inserting ``hospice and palliative
nursing,'' after ``coordinated care,''.
(b) Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training
Programs.--Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 832. PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION AND
TRAINING.
``(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall award grants
to eligible entities to develop and implement, in
coordination with programs under section 759A, programs and
initiatives to train and educate individuals in providing
interprofessional team-based palliative care in health-
related educational, hospital, hospice, home, or long-term
care settings.
``(b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a
grant under subsection (a) shall use funds under such grant
to--
``(1) provide training to individuals who will provide
palliative care in health-related educational, hospital,
home, hospice, or long-term care settings;
``(2) develop and disseminate curricula relating to
palliative care in health-related educational, hospital,
home, hospice, or long-term care settings;
``(3) train faculty members in palliative care in health-
related educational, hospital, home, hospice, or long-term
care settings; or
``(4) provide continuing education to individuals who
provide palliative care in health-related educational, home,
hospice, or long-term care settings.
``(c) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant
under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
``(d) Eligible Entity.--For purposes of this section, the
term `eligible entity' shall include a school of nursing, a
health care facility, a program leading to certification as a
certified nurse assistant, a partnership of such a school and
facility, or a partnership of such a program and facility.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.''.
SEC. 4. DISSEMINATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE INFORMATION.
Part A of title IX of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 299 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 904. DISSEMINATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE INFORMATION.
``(a) In General.--Under the authority under section 902(a)
to disseminate information on health care and on systems for
the delivery of such care, the Director may disseminate
information to inform patients, families, and health
professionals about the benefits of palliative care
throughout the continuum of care for patients with serious or
life-threatening illness.
``(b) Information Disseminated.--
``(1) Mandatory information.--If the Director elects to
disseminate information under subsection (a), such
dissemination shall include the following:
``(A) Palliative care.--Information, resources, and
communication materials about palliative care as an essential
part of the continuum of quality care for patients and
families facing serious or life-threatening illness
(including cancer; heart, kidney, liver, lung, and infectious
diseases; as well as neurodegenerative disease such as
dementia, Parkinson's disease, or amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis).
``(B) Palliative care services.--Specific information
regarding the services provided to patients by professionals
trained in hospice and palliative care, including pain and
symptom management, support for shared decisionmaking, care
coordination, psychosocial care, and spiritual care,
explaining that such services may be provided starting at the
point of diagnosis and alongside curative treatment and are
intended to--
``(i) provide patient-centered and family-centered support
throughout the continuum of care for serious and life-
threatening illness;
``(ii) anticipate, prevent, and treat physical, emotional,
social, and spiritual suffering;
[[Page H6604]]
``(iii) optimize quality of life; and
``(iv) facilitate and support the goals and values of
patients and families.
``(C) Palliative care professionals.--Specific materials
that explain the role of professionals trained in hospice and
palliative care in providing team-based care (including pain
and symptom management, support for shared decisionmaking,
care coordination, psychosocial care, and spiritual care) for
patients and families throughout the continuum of care for
serious or life-threatening illness.
``(D) Research.--Evidence-based research demonstrating the
benefits of patient access to palliative care throughout the
continuum of care for serious or life-threatening illness.
``(E) Population-specific materials.--Materials targeting
specific populations, including patients with serious or
life-threatening illness who are among medically underserved
populations (as defined in section 330(b)(3)) and families of
such patients or health professionals serving medically
underserved populations. Such populations shall include
pediatric patients, young adult and adolescent patients,
racial and ethnic minority populations, and other priority
populations specified by the Director.
``(2) Required publication.--Information and materials
disseminated under paragraph (1) shall be posted on the
Internet websites of relevant Federal agencies and
departments, including the Department of Veterans Affairs,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the
Administration on Aging.
``(c) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with
appropriate professional societies, hospice and palliative
care stakeholders, and relevant patient advocate
organizations with respect to palliative care, psychosocial
care, and complex chronic illness with respect to the
following:
``(1) The planning and implementation of the dissemination
of palliative care information under this section.
``(2) The development of information to be disseminated
under this section.
``(3) A definition of the term `serious or life-threatening
illness' for purposes of this section.''.
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION.
None of the funds made available under this Act (or an
amendment made by this Act) may be used to provide, promote,
or provide training with regard to any item or service for
which Federal funding is unavailable under section 3 of
Public Law 105-12 (42 U.S.C. 14402).
SEC. 6. ENHANCING NIH RESEARCH IN PALLIATIVE CARE.
(a) In General.--Part B of title IV of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
``SEC. 409K. ENHANCING RESEARCH IN PALLIATIVE CARE.
``The Secretary, acting through the Director of the
National Institutes of Health, shall develop and implement a
strategy to be applied across the institutes and centers of
the National Institutes of Health to expand and intensify
national research programs in palliative care in order to
address the quality of care and quality of life for the
rapidly growing population of patients in the United States
with serious or life-threatening illnesses, including cancer;
heart, kidney, liver, lung, and infectious diseases; as well
as neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Parkinson's
disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.''.
(b) Expanding Trans-NIH Research Reporting To Include
Palliative Care Research.--Section 402A(c)(2)(B) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282a(c)(2)(B)) is
amended by inserting ``and, beginning January 1, 2019, for
conducting or supporting research with respect to palliative
care'' after ``or national centers''.
SEC. 7. CUT-GO OFFSET.
The total amount authorized to be appropriated to the
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services for each
of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 is the amount that is
$20,000,000 below the total amount appropriated to such
Office for fiscal year 2018.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon.
General Leave
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oregon?
There was no objection.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1676. As we have heard,
this is the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, and
it is sponsored by my colleague from New York, Representative Eliot
Engel.
This bipartisan legislation will authorize the Department of Health
and Human Services to award grants or contracts for palliative care and
hospice education centers, promote the career development of nurses and
physicians in palliative care, and promote research and outreach in the
delivery of care for patients with serious or life-threatening
illnesses at the National Institutes of Health.
Now, I have heard about this bill's impact from palliative care
specialists and disease advocates all across Oregon. Dawn Frazier in
Bend, Oregon, told me about her daughter, Rhonda, who tragically passed
away at the age of 34. She suffered from early onset Alzheimer's.
In an opinion piece that Dawn had published in the Bend Bulletin, she
wrote: ``Palliative and hospice care are vital services for people with
Alzheimer's and other dementias. For people with advanced dementia,
team-based care--which focuses on managing and easing symptoms,
reducing pain and stress, and increasing comfort--improves quality of
life, controls costs, and enhances patient and family satisfaction.''
She wrote: ``Here in Oregon, 19 percent of people in hospice have a
primary diagnosis of dementia. Yet, the availability and quality of
palliative and hospice care is a concern.''
Dawn went on to say that this bill will help make critical palliative
care and hospice services available to millions of patients across the
country.
I have long been a supporter of this bipartisan legislation and
programs for palliative and hospice care. My own parents both received
valuable care in this regard, especially hospice care, as their lives
came to a close.
This is all part of why I am a cosponsor, along with 284 of my
colleagues in the House, and why I have worked with Representative
Engel and our subcommittee chair on the Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee for Health, Chairman Burgess, to move this legislation
forward in the Energy and Commerce Committee, where, by the way, it
received unanimous votes in both our Health Subcommittee and in our
full committee.
So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this
important measure. Let's advance our public health.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1676, the Palliative
Care and Hospice Education and Training Act.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and our committee member,
Congressman Eliot Engel, for introducing this important legislation. I
would also like to thank other cosponsors: Congressman Buddy Carter,
also a member on our committee, and Representative Tom Reed for their
work and support on this legislation.
Palliative care complements efforts to treat or cure illness by
focusing on patients' quality of life. It is appropriate for patients
with serious illnesses, starting at the point of diagnosis through
treatment, and onward through hospice and the end of life.
Palliative care entails communication with patients and their
families to coordinate care, determine patient preferences, and assist
with medical decisionmaking.
A growing body of research has documented the benefits of high-
quality palliative and hospice care for patients in hospitals and
payers, and the healthcare system as a whole.
Palliative and hospice care have been associated with enhanced
quality of life for patients, reduced hospital expenditures and lengths
of stay, and other positive outcomes, including longer patient survival
time.
Despite the benefits of palliative care, many Americans aren't aware
of the supports available to them. There is also a shortage of educated
providers who can offer quality palliative care.
The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act will
address these issues.
This legislation will help create an infrastructure to improve
palliative care training for healthcare providers, encourage the
National Institutes of Health to expand its research on palliative care
and pain management, and ensure Americans have an understanding of how
palliative care may benefit them and their loved ones.
[[Page H6605]]
I am a proud cosponsor of this legislation. In fact, this bill has
285 cosponsors, two-thirds of the entire House of Representatives.
I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important
legislation that will expand our Nation's research and infrastructure
on palliative care and pain management.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Reed), who has been a real leader on this issue and several
others related to healthcare, and especially on diabetes.
Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for recognizing me and
for the opportunity to speak, and my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle for the efforts that they have put into the Palliative Care
and Hospice Education and Training Act.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, because hospice
and palliative care is an underutilized piece of medical treatment in
America. This bill is designed to promote not only the care that is
provided under palliative and hospice care, but also to empower the
workforce of today and tomorrow to provide these critical healthcare
delivery systems to our aging population, to our family members, and to
our dear fellow citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I am strongly in support of this legislation, because
this is something that is personal, as I lost my mom 9 months to the
day she was diagnosed with lymphoma and passed in my arms. The woman
who taught me how to live, and my 11 older brothers and sisters, also
taught me how to die.
We in America need to have a conversation across this entire Nation
about how important it is to recognize that we are all mortal and that,
at the end of our life, we need to face that critical question of what
type of healthcare we want to receive to make sure that our quality of
life is preserved and the quantity of life is extended as much as
possible in order to enjoy that life.
Under this act, Mr. Speaker, one of the key components of it is to
provide the professionalism that is necessary to have that conversation
with families, with children like myself in that situation. I hope that
we will have this conversation with our loved ones much sooner rather
than at that end of times.
By engaging in this legislation, Mr. Speaker, we will promote
palliative and hospice care, and make sure that all Americans know that
this care is available to them. Not only will it allow them to enjoy
peace in their final days, but it will provide a quality of life that
no other care that I know of does. That is palliative and hospice care
to make you comfortable and enjoy your loved ones as we end our time on
this Earth.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and
join us in this effort.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), a member of our Energy and
Commerce Committee and cosponsor of this bill.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. Mr.
Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. This
is clearly a bipartisan collaboration.
I am proud to be the main sponsor of H.R. 1676, the Palliative Care
and Hospice Education and Training Act, and I urge my colleagues to
support this important bill.
The goal of palliative care is to alleviate suffering for patients
and their loved ones, accompanying efforts to treat or cure illness. So
while the illness is being treated, there is support being given to the
person who is sick and for their loved ones as well.
It entails support from a team of doctors, nurses, social workers,
physician assistants, clergy persons, and other specialists who provide
an extra layer of assistance, including help with medical
decisionmaking and coordination of care across multiple settings. It is
appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness.
Palliative and hospice care have been associated with enhanced
quality of life for patients, but too many people simply don't know
about these benefits. On top of that, there is a shortage of educated
providers who can offer quality palliative and hospice care.
That is where this bill comes in.
The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act addresses
these issues by expanding opportunities for training in palliative and
hospice care.
This bill also aims to better educate patients, families, and health
professionals about palliative care's benefits, and encourages NIH to
expand research around this topic.
Ultimately, this bill will help us ensure that there is a well-
trained palliative care workforce available to care for patients, a
goal that I believe will also be critical to turning the tide of the
ongoing opioid epidemic.
One of the goals of palliative care is to provide relief from the
pain of a serious illness. By creating the infrastructure needed to
better educate health professionals on palliative care, this
legislation will also help ensure health professionals are able to
properly manage patients' pain and practice appropriate evidence-based
prescribing, a space where, as the opioid crisis has shown, we need to
do much better.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Pallone,
Chairman Burgess, and Ranking Member Green for helping to move this
bill forward. I also want to thank Congressman Tom Reed and
Congressman Buddy Carter, who coauthored the bill, and all of its 285
bipartisan cosponsors. This is about as bipartisan as you can get.
We are dealing with issues that people sometimes don't like to talk
about, end of life issues, issues of that nature, but it is something
that must be talked about, because families need help. This will give
the families the help that they need.
I think every one of us has felt the pain and stress of a serious
illness either personally or standing alongside a loved one. By passing
this bill, we will take an important step to bring much, much needed
relief to both patients and their loved ones.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the committee and all
the people who worked to make this bill bipartisan. We can all be proud
of this when it becomes law.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I will close by again thanking my colleagues
on both sides of the aisle. Thanks to the gentleman from New York, the
gentleman from Texas, my colleagues on this side of the aisle. I know
Dr. Phil Roe, who chairs our Veterans' Affairs Committee, a very strong
advocate and supporter of this, could not be here to speak on it
because of a conflict.
Mr. Speaker, let me just say this is really important. It will change
lives. It will improve lives. With that, I hope our colleagues will
join us in supporting this very important measure.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1676, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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