[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8151 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8151
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to awards to
support community health workers and community health.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 21, 2022
Mr. Ruiz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to awards to
support community health workers and community health.
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 ``Building a Sustainable Workforce for
Healthy Communities Act''.
SEC. 2. AWARDS TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS AND COMMUNITY
HEALTH.
Section 399V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-11)
is amended--
(1) by amending the section heading to read as follows:
``awards to support community health workers and community
health'';
(2) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration,
shall award grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to eligible
entities to promote healthy behaviors and outcomes for populations in
medically underserved communities through the use of community health
workers, including by addressing ongoing and longer-term community
health needs, and by building the capacity of the community health
worker workforce. Such grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements
shall be awarded in alignment and coordination with existing funding
arrangements supporting community health workers.'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``Grants awarded'' and
inserting ``Subject to any requirements for the
scope of licensure, registration, or
certification of a community health worker
under applicable State law, grants, contracts,
and cooperative agreements awarded''; and
(ii) by striking ``support community health
workers'';
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as
paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively;
(C) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and
inserting the following:
``(1) recruit, hire, and train community health workers
that reflect the needs of the community;
``(2) support community health workers in providing
education and outreach, in a community setting, regarding--
``(A) health conditions prevalent in--
``(i) medically underserved communities (as
defined in section 799B), particularly racial
and ethnic minority populations; and
``(ii) other such populations or geographic
areas that may require additional support
during public health emergencies, which may
include counties identified by the Secretary
using applicable measures developed by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or
other Federal agencies; and
``(B) addressing social determinants of health and
eliminating health disparities, including by--
``(i) promoting awareness of services and
resources to increase access to health care,
child services, technology, housing services,
educational services, nutrition services,
employment services, and other services; and
``(ii) assisting in conducting individual
and community needs assessments;
``(3) educate community members, including regarding
effective strategies to promote healthy behaviors;'';
(D) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by
striking ``to educate'' and inserting ``educate'';
(E) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``to identify'' and
inserting ``identify'';
(ii) by striking ``healthcare agencies''
and inserting ``health care agencies''; and
(iii) by striking ``healthcare services and
to eliminate duplicative care; or'' and
inserting ``health care services and to
streamline care, including serving as a liaison
between communities and health care agencies;
and''; and
(F) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``to educate, guide, and
provide'' and inserting ``support community
health workers in educating, guiding, or
providing''; and
(ii) by striking ``maternal health and
prenatal care'' and inserting ``chronic
diseases, maternal health, and prenatal care in
order to improve maternal and infant health
outcomes'';
(4) in subsection (c), by striking ``Each eligible entity''
and all that follows through ``accompanied by'' and inserting
``To be eligible to receive an award under subsection (a), an
entity shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an application
at such time, in such manner, and containing'';
(5) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``grants'' and inserting ``awards'';
(B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) propose to serve--
``(A) areas with populations that have a high rate
of chronic disease, infant mortality, or maternal
morbidity and mortality;
``(B) low-income populations, including medically
underserved populations (as defined in section
330(b)(3));
``(C) populations residing in health professional
shortage areas (as defined in section 332(a));
``(D) populations residing in maternity care health
professional target areas identified under section
332(k); or
``(E) rural or traditionally underserved
populations, including racial and ethnic minority
populations or low-income populations;'';
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting ``, including rural populations and racial
and ethnic minority populations;'';
(D) in paragraph (3), by striking ``with community
health workers.'' and inserting ``and established
relationships with community health workers in the
communities expected to be served by the program; or''
and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) develop a plan for providing services to the extent
practicable, in the language and cultural context most
appropriate to individuals expected to be served by the
program.'';
(6) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``community health worker
programs'' and inserting ``eligible entities''; and
(B) by striking ``and one-stop delivery systems
under section 121(e)'' and inserting ``, health
professions schools, minority-serving institutions (as
described in section 371 of the Higher Education Act of
1965), area health education centers under section 751
of this Act, and one-stop delivery systems under
section 121'';
(7) by striking subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) and
inserting the following:
``(f) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide to eligible
entities that receive awards under subsection (a) technical assistance
with respect to planning, development, and operation of community
health worker programs authorized or supported under this section.
``(g) Dissemination of Best Practices.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of the Building a Sustainable Workforce for
Healthy Communities Act, the Secretary shall, based on activities
carried out under this section and in collaboration with relevant
stakeholders, identify and disseminate evidence-based or evidence-
informed practices regarding recruitment and retention of community
health workers to address ongoing public health and community health
needs, and to prepare for, and respond to, future public health
emergencies.
``(h) Report to Congress.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of the Building a Sustainable Workforce for Healthy
Communities Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report concerning
the effectiveness of the program under this section in addressing
ongoing public health and community health needs. Such report shall
include recommendations regarding any improvements to such program,
including recommendations for how to improve recruitment, training, and
retention of the community health workforce.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of carrying
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.'';
(8) by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection (j); and
(9) in subsection (j), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (4);
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(1);
(C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``entity (including a State
or public subdivision of a State'' and
inserting ``entity, including a State or
political subdivision of a State, an Indian
Tribe or Tribal organization, an urban Indian
organization, a community-based organization'';
and
(ii) by striking ``as defined in section
1861(aa) of the Social Security Act))'' and
inserting ``(as described in section
1861(aa)(4)(B) of the Social Security Act)'';
and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms `Indian
Tribe' and `Tribal organization' have the meanings given the
terms `Indian tribe' and `tribal organization', respectively,
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act.
``(3) Urban indian organization.--The term `urban Indian
organization' has the meaning given such term in section 4 of
the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.''.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY AND REPORT.
Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a
report on the program authorized under section 399V of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g-11) (as amended by section 2,
including a review of the outcomes and effectiveness of the program and
coordination with applicable programs of the Health Resources and
Services Administration to ensure there is no unnecessary duplication
of efforts among such programs.
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