[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1274-S1275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4610. Mr. WYDEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee
on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted, insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Health Workforce Innovation
Act''.
SEC. 2. HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE INNOVATION PROGRAM.
Section 755(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
294e(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5)(A) Supporting and developing new innovative,
community-driven approaches for the education and training of
allied health professionals, including those described in
subparagraph (F)(i), with an emphasis on expanding the supply
of such professionals located in, and meeting the needs of,
underserved communities and rural areas. Grants or contracts
under this paragraph shall be awarded through a new program
(referred to as the `Health Care Workforce Innovation
Program' or in this paragraph as the `Program').
``(B) To be eligible to receive a grant or contract under
the Program an entity shall--
``(i) be a Federally qualified health center (as defined in
section 1905(l)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act), a State-
level association or other consortium that represents and is
comprised of Federally qualified health centers, a certified
rural health clinic that meets the requirements of section
334, or an accredited, nonprofit post-secondary vocational
program that trains allied health professionals to work in
primary care settings; and
``(ii) submit to the Secretary an application that, at a
minimum, contains--
``(I) a description of how all trainees will be trained in
accredited training programs either directly or through
partnerships with public or nonprofit private entities, such
as schools of allied health;
``(II) a description of the community-driven health care
workforce innovation model to be carried out under the grant
or contract, including the specific allied health professions
to be funded;
``(III) the geographic service area that will be served,
including quantitative data, if available, showing that such
particular area faces a shortage of allied health
professionals and lacks access to health care;
``(IV) a description of the benefits provided to each
health care professional trained under the proposed model
during the education and training phase;
``(V) a description of the experience that the applicant
has in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of the well-
being of workers and volunteers;
``(VI) a description of how the funding awarded under the
Program will supplement rather than supplant existing
funding;
``(VII) a description of the scalability and replicability
of the community-driven approach to be funded under the
Program;
``(VIII) a description of the infrastructure, outreach and
communication plan and other program support costs required
to operationalize the proposed model; and
``(IX) any other information, as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(C)(i) An entity shall use amounts received under a grant
or contract awarded under the Program to carry out the
innovative, community-driven model described in the
application under subparagraph (B). Such amounts may be used
for launching new or expanding existing innovative health
care professional partnerships, including the following
specific uses:
``(I) Establishing or expanding a partnership between such
entity and 1 or more high schools, accredited public or
nonprofit private vocational-technical schools, accredited
public or nonprofit private 2-year colleges, area health
education centers, and entities with clinical settings for
the provision of education and training opportunities not
available at the grantee's facilities.
``(II) Providing education and training programs to improve
allied health professionals' readiness in settings that serve
underserved communities and rural areas; encouraging students
from underserved and disadvantaged backgrounds and former
patients to consider careers in health care, and better
reflecting and meeting community needs; providing education
and training programs for individuals to work in patient-
centered, team-based, community-driven health care models
that include integration with other clinical practitioners
and training in cultural and linguistic competence; providing
pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs for health
care technical, support, and entry-level occupations,
particularly for those enrolled in dual or concurrent
enrollment programs; building a preceptorship training-to-
practice model for medical, behavioral health, oral health,
and public health disciplines in an integrated, community-
driven setting; providing and expanding internships, career
ladders, and development opportunities for health care
professionals, including new and existing staff; or investing
in training equipment, supplies, and limited renovations or
retrofitting of training space needed for grantees to carry
out their particular model.
``(ii) Amounts received under a grant or contract awarded
under the Program shall not be used to support construction
costs or to supplant funding from existing programs that
support the applicant's health workforce.
``(iii) Models funded under the Program shall be for a
duration of at least 3 years.
``(D) In awarding grants or contracts under the Program,
the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that will use
grant or contract funds to support workforce innovation
models that increase the number of individuals from
underserved and disadvantaged backgrounds working in such
health care professions, improve access to health care
(including medical, behavioral health and oral health) in
underserved communities, or demonstrate that the model can be
replicated in other underserved communities in a cost-
efficient and effective manner to achieve the purposes of the
Program.
``(E) An entity that receives a grant or contract under the
Program shall provide periodic reports to the Secretary
detailing the findings and outcomes of the innovative,
community-driven model carried out under
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the grant. Such reports shall contain information in a manner
and at such times as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
``(F) In this paragraph:
``(i) The term `allied health professional' includes
individuals who provide clinical support services, including
medical assistants, dental assistants, dental hygienists,
dental therapists, pharmacy technicians, physical therapists,
physical therapist assistants and health care interpreters;
individuals providing non-clinical support, such as billing
and coding professionals and health information technology
professionals; dieticians; medical technologists; emergency
medical technicians; community health workers; health
education specialists; health care paraprofessionals; and
peer support specialists.
``(ii) The term `rural area' has the meaning given such
term by the Administrator of the Health Resources and
Services Administration.
``(iii) The term `underserved communities' means areas,
population groups, and facilities designated as health
professional shortage areas under section 332, medically
underserved areas as defined under section 330I(a)), or
medically underserved populations as defined under section
330(b)(3).
``(G)(i) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2027 through
2029, to carry out this paragraph, to remain available until
expended.
``(ii) A grant or contract provided under the Program shall
not exceed $2,500,000 for a grant period.''.
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