II 

Calendar No. 69 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 610 

To address behavioral health and well-being among health care professionals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 4, 2021 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. REED, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. KING, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WARNER, Ms. SMITH, 

Ms. ROSEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. 

TESTER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. KELLY, Mr. PETERS, Ms. MURKOWSKI, 

Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. 

BOOZMAN, Mr. BROWN, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

JUNE 8, 2021 

Reported by Mrs. MURRAY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To address behavioral health and well-being among health 

care professionals. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dr. Lorna Breen 

3 Health Care Provider Protection Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING TRAINING 

5 FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

6 Subpart 1 of part E of title VII of the Public Health 

7 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 764. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING TRAIN10 ING FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

11 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish a program to award grants to health professions 

13 schools, academic health centers, State or local govern14 ments, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit en15 tities for funding and participation in health professions 

16 and nursing training activities for the training of health 

17 care students, residents, or professionals in evidence-in18 formed strategies to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, 

19 behavioral health conditions, including mental health con20 ditions and substance use disorders, among health care 

21 professionals, and in evidence-informed strategies to im22 prove health care professionals’ well-being and job satis23 faction. 

24 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 

25 subsection (a), an entity described in such subsection shall 

26 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 


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1 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may require. 

3 ‘‘(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each entity 

4 awarded a grant under this section shall periodically sub5 mit to the Secretary a report evaluating the activities sup6 ported by the grant. 

7 ‘‘(d) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary may identify 

8 and disseminate evidence-informed best practices for re9 ducing and preventing suicide and burnout among health 

10 care professionals, and training health care professionals 

11 in appropriate strategies and promoting their mental and 

12 behavioral health and job satisfaction. Such best practices 

13 shall include specific recommendations for reducing and 

14 preventing suicide, burnout, and other mental and behav15 ioral health concerns among health care professionals dur16 ing or in the aftermath of a pandemic, natural disaster, 

17 or other crisis. 

18 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

19 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro20 priated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

21 years 2022 through 2026.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ENCOUR2 AGING USE OF MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

3 HEALTH SERVICES BY HEALTH CARE PRO4 FESSIONALS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

8 Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation with 

9 the medical professional community, shall establish a na10 tional evidence-based education and awareness campaign 

11 targeting health care professionals to encourage such pro12 fessionals to seek support and treatment for their own 

13 mental and behavioral health concerns, help such profes14 sionals identify risk factors in themselves and others and 

15 learn how best to respond to such risks, with the goal of 

16 reducing or preventing suicide, burnout, and mental and 

17 behavioral health conditions, and to address stigma associ18 ated with seeking mental and behavioral health support 

19 and treatment. 

20 (b) REPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide 

22 an update on the campaign’s progress, including a plan 

23 for evaluation that includes quantitative and qualitative 

24 metrics, and a media and dissemination plan, to the Com25 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 


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1 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

6 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO PRO7 MOTE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 

8 AMONG THEIR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL 

9 WORKFORCE. 

10 Subpart 1 of part E of title VII of the Public Health 

11 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.), as amended by sec12 tion 2, is further amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 764A. GRANTS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO 

15 PROMOTE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

16 HEALTH AMONG THEIR HEALTH PROFES17 SIONAL WORKFORCE. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

19 grants to health care providers, including medical profes20 sional associations, to establish or expand evidence-in21 formed programs dedicated to promoting mental and be22 havioral health among their employees (including contrac23 tors) or members who are working on the front lines of 

24 the SARS–CoV–2 pandemic. 


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1 ‘‘(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A health care provider 

2 awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall use amounts 

3 under the grant to implement a new program or protocol 

4 or expand an existing program or protocol to promote 

5 mental and behavioral health among employees (including 

6 contractors) or members who have previously treated or 

7 otherwise served, or are currently treating or otherwise 

8 serving, patients diagnosed with COVID–19, which may 

9 include any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Educating employees, including contrac11 tors, or membership about risk factors for and signs 

12 of self-harm and suicide and mental and behavioral 

13 health conditions in accordance with evidence-based 

14 practices and standards. 

15 ‘‘(2) Establishing new or enhancing existing 

16 evidence-based programs or protocols for preventing 

17 mental and behavioral health conditions, suicide, or 

18 self-harm. 

19 ‘‘(3) Establishing new or enhancing existing 

20 peer-support programs among employees (including 

21 contractors) or members. 

22 ‘‘(4) Mental and behavioral health treatment, 

23 follow up services and care, or referral for such serv24 ices identified as appropriate as a result of the 


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1 screenings or prevention programs and protocol de2 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

3 ‘‘(c) GRANT TERMS.—A grant awarded under sub4 section (a)— 

5 ‘‘(1) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 

6 ‘‘(2) may be renewed subject to the require7 ments of this section. 

8 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—A health care pro9 vider seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit 

10 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man11 ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec12 retary may require. 

13 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to applica14 tions from health care providers located in current or 

15 former COVID–19 hotspots, as determined by the Sec16 retary or health care providers which have diagnosed or 

17 treated a higher share of COVID–19 patients, as deter18 mined by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.—A health care provider awarded a 

20 grant under subsection (a) shall periodically submit to the 

21 Secretary a report evaluating the activities supported by 

22 the grant. 

23 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

24 carry out this section, there is authorized to be approVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S610.RS S610

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1 priated $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 

2 through 2024.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON HEALTH CARE PRO4 FESSIONAL MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

5 HEALTH AND BURNOUT. 

6 Subpart 1 of part E of title VII of the Public Health 

7 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.), as amended by sec8 tion 4, is further amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 764B. COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON HEALTH CARE 

11 PROFESSIONAL MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

12 HEALTH AND BURNOUT. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

14 with stakeholders, shall conduct a review and submit rec15 ommendations to Congress on policies to improve health 

16 care professional mental health and prevent burnout. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—The study under subsection 

18 (a) shall focus on identifying— 

19 ‘‘(1) the factors that contribute to mental and 

20 behavioral health conditions and burnout among 

21 health care professionals; 

22 ‘‘(2) the barriers to seeking and accessing men23 tal and behavioral health treatment for health care 

24 professionals, including stigma and concerns about 

25 licensing and credentialing; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the implications of poor mental and behav2 ioral health and burnout among health care profes3 sionals for the health care system, the health care 

4 workforce, and patient outcomes; 

5 ‘‘(4) the impact of the SARS–CoV–2 pandemic 

6 on the mental and behavioral health of health care 

7 professionals and related preparedness strategies for 

8 future health emergencies; 

9 ‘‘(5) the factors that promote mental and be10 havioral health and resiliency among health care 

11 professionals, including programs or protocols that 

12 strengthen mental and behavioral health or prevent 

13 burnout among health care professionals; and 

14 ‘‘(6) the efficacy of health professional training 

15 programs that promote resiliency and improve men16 tal health. 

17 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The study required under 

18 subsection (a) shall include recommendations related to— 

19 ‘‘(1) improving mental and behavioral health 

20 and preventing burnout among health care profes21 sionals; 

22 ‘‘(2) removing barriers to mental and behavioral 

23 health care for health care professionals; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) strategies to promote resiliency among 

2 health care professionals and other employees and 

3 contractors in health care settings. 

4 ‘‘(d) COMPLETION.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

5 the study under subsection (a) is completed and submitted 

6 to Congress and made publicly available not later than 3 

7 years after the date of enactment of this section. 

8 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $3,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 

11 2024.’’. 

12 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dr. Lorna Breen Health 

14 Care Provider Protection Act’’. 

15 SEC. 2. DISSEMINATION OF BEST PRACTICES. 

16 The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred 

17 to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall identify and dis18 seminate evidence-based or evidence-informed best practices 

19 for preventing suicide and improving mental health and re20 siliency among health care professionals, and for training 

21 health care professionals in appropriate strategies to pro22 mote their mental health. Such best practices shall include 

23 recommendations related to preventing suicide and improv24 ing mental health and resiliency among health care profes25 sionals. 


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1 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS INITIATIVE ENCOUR2 AGING USE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUB3 STANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES BY 

4 HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

6 relevant stakeholders, including medical professional asso7 ciations, shall establish a national evidence-based or evi8 dence-informed education and awareness initiative to en9 courage health care professionals to seek support and care 

10 for their mental health or substance use concerns, to help 

11 such professionals identify risk factors associated with sui12 cide and mental health conditions, and to help such profes13 sionals learn how best to respond to such risks, with the 

14 goal of preventing suicide, mental health conditions, and 

15 substance use disorders, and to address stigma associated 

16 with seeking mental health and substance use disorder serv17 ices. 

18 (b) REPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide to the 

20 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

21 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

22 of the House of Representatives an update on the activities 

23 and outcomes of the initiative under subsection (a), includ24 ing a description of quantitative and qualitative metrics 

25 used to evaluate such activities and outcomes. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

2 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

3 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024. 

4 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH AMONG 

5 THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE. 

6 Subpart I of part E of title VII of the Public Health 

7 Service Act (42 U.S.C.. 294n et seq.) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 764. GRANTS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH AMONG 

10 THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 

12 related to improving mental health and resiliency among 

13 health care professionals. 

14 ‘‘(b) GRANTS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH AMONG

15 HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

17 grants to health care entities, including entities that 

18 provide health care services, such as hospitals, com19 munity health centers, and rural health clinics, or to 

20 medical professional associations, to establish or en21 hance evidence-based or evidence-informed programs 

22 dedicated to improving mental health and resiliency 

23 for health care professionals. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiv25 ing a grant under this subsection shall use amounts 


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1 under the grant to implement a new program or en2 hance an existing program to promote mental health 

3 among health care professionals, which may in4 clude— 

5 ‘‘(A) improving awareness among health 

6 care professionals about risk factors for, and 

7 signs of, suicide and mental health or substance 

8 use disorders, in accordance with evidence-based 

9 or evidence-informed practices; 

10 ‘‘(B) establishing new, or enhancing exist11 ing, evidence-based or evidence-informed pro12 grams for preventing suicide and improving 

13 mental health and resiliency among health care 

14 professionals; 

15 ‘‘(C) establishing new, or enhancing exist16 ing, peer-support programs among health care 

17 professionals; or 

18 ‘‘(D) providing mental health care, follow19 up services and care, or referral for such services 

20 and care, as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

22 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

23 entities in health professional shortage areas or rural 

24 areas. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TRAINING GRANTS.—The Secretary may establish 

2 a program to award grants to health professions schools, 

3 academic health centers, State or local governments, Indian 

4 Tribes or Tribal organizations, or other appropriate public 

5 or private nonprofit entities (or consortia of entities, in6 cluding entities promoting multidisciplinary approaches) 

7 to support the training of health care students, residents, 

8 or health care professionals in evidence-based or evidence9 informed strategies to address mental and substance use dis10 orders and improve mental health and resiliency among 

11 health care professionals. 

12 ‘‘(d) GRANT TERMS.—A grant awarded under sub13 section (b) or (c) shall be for a period of 3 years. 

14 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—An entity seeking a 

15 grant under subsection (b) or (c) shall submit an applica16 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

17 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may re18 quire. 

19 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.—An entity awarded a grant under 

20 subsection (b) or (c) shall periodically submit to the Sec21 retary a report evaluating the activities supported by the 

22 grant. 

23 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

24 out this section and section 5 of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health 

25 Care Provider Protection Act, there are authorized to be apVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S610.RS S610

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1 propriated $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

2 2024.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. REVIEW WITH RESPECT TO HEALTH CARE PROFES4 SIONAL MENTAL HEALTH AND RESILIENCY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

6 relevant stakeholders, shall conduct a review and, not later 

7 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit 

8 a report to Congress related to improving health care profes9 sional mental health and resiliency and the outcomes of pro10 grams authorized under this Act. 

11 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—The review under subsection 

12 (a) shall take into account— 

13 (1) factors that contribute to mental health con14 ditions; 

15 (2) barriers to seeking and accessing mental 

16 health care for health care professionals, which may 

17 include consideration of stigma and licensing con18 cerns, and actions taken by State licensing boards, 

19 schools for health professionals, health care profes20 sional training associations, hospital associations, or 

21 other organizations, as appropriate, to address such 

22 barriers; 

23 (3) the impact of the COVID–19 public health 

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1 sionals and lessons learned for future public health 

2 emergencies; 

3 (4) factors that promote mental health and resil4 iency among health care professionals, including pro5 grams or strategies to strengthen mental health and 

6 resiliency among health care professionals; and 

7 (5) the efficacy of health professional training 

8 programs that promote resiliency and improve mental 

9 health. 

10 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The review under subsection 

11 (a), as appropriate, shall identify best practices related to, 

12 and make recommendations to address— 

13 (1) improving mental health and resiliency 

14 among health care professionals; 

15 (2) removing barriers to mental health care for 

16 health care professionals; and 

17 (3) strategies to promote resiliency among health 

18 care professionals in health care settings. 


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Calendar No. 69 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 610 

A BILL 

To address behavioral health and well-being among 

health care professionals. 

JUNE 8, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


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