S. 4254

119 S4254 IS: Health Workforce Innovation Act
 U.S. Senate
 2026-03-26
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 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 4254  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   March 26, 2026   Mr. Wyden  (for himself and  Mrs. Blackburn ) 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 provide for a health care workforce innovation program.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Health Workforce Innovation Act  .
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 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.
 .