II 

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, and Mr. PETERS) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Health Care Provider Protection Act’’. 


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

2 FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

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

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

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 764. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING TRAIN7 ING FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

8 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish a program to award grants to health professions 

10 schools, academic health centers, State or local govern11 ments, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit en12 tities for funding and participation in health professions 

13 and nursing training activities for the training of health 

14 care students, residents, or professionals in evidence-in15 formed strategies to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, 

16 behavioral health conditions, including mental health con17 ditions and substance use disorders, among health care 

18 professionals, and in evidence-informed strategies to im19 prove health care professionals’ well-being and job satis20 faction. 

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

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

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

24 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec25 retary may require. 


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

2 awarded a grant under this section shall periodically sub3 mit to the Secretary a report evaluating the activities sup4 ported by the grant. 

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

6 and disseminate evidence-informed best practices for re7 ducing and preventing suicide and burnout among health 

8 care professionals, and training health care professionals 

9 in appropriate strategies and promoting their mental and 

10 behavioral health and job satisfaction. Such best practices 

11 shall include specific recommendations for reducing and 

12 preventing suicide, burnout, and other mental and behav13 ioral health concerns among health care professionals dur14 ing or in the aftermath of a pandemic, natural disaster, 

15 or other crisis. 

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

17 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro18 priated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

19 years 2022 through 2026.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ENCOUR21 AGING USE OF MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

22 HEALTH SERVICES BY HEALTH CARE PRO23 FESSIONALS. 

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

25 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Apr 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S610.IS S610

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1 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

2 Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation with 

3 the medical professional community, shall establish a na4 tional evidence-based education and awareness campaign 

5 targeting health care professionals to encourage such pro6 fessionals to seek support and treatment for their own 

7 mental and behavioral health concerns, help such profes8 sionals identify risk factors in themselves and others and 

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

10 reducing or preventing suicide, burnout, and mental and 

11 behavioral health conditions, and to address stigma associ12 ated with seeking mental and behavioral health support 

13 and treatment. 

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

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

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

17 for evaluation that includes quantitative and qualitative 

18 metrics, and a media and dissemination plan, to the Com19 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

20 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

21 the House of Representatives. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 


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1 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO PRO2 MOTE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 

3 AMONG THEIR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL 

4 WORKFORCE. 

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

6 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.), as amended by sec7 tion 2, is further amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

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

10 PROMOTE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

11 HEALTH AMONG THEIR HEALTH PROFES12 SIONAL WORKFORCE. 

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

14 grants to health care providers, including medical profes15 sional associations, to establish or expand evidence-in16 formed programs dedicated to promoting mental and be17 havioral health among their employees (including contrac18 tors) or members who are working on the front lines of 

19 the SARS–CoV–2 pandemic. 

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

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

22 under the grant to implement a new program or protocol 

23 or expand an existing program or protocol to promote 

24 mental and behavioral health among employees (including 

25 contractors) or members who have previously treated or 

26 otherwise served, or are currently treating or otherwise 


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

2 include any of the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Educating employees, including contrac4 tors, or membership about risk factors for and signs 

5 of self-harm and suicide and mental and behavioral 

6 health conditions in accordance with evidence-based 

7 practices and standards. 

8 ‘‘(2) Establishing new or enhancing existing 

9 evidence-based programs or protocols for preventing 

10 mental and behavioral health conditions, suicide, or 

11 self-harm. 

12 ‘‘(3) Establishing new or enhancing existing 

13 peer-support programs among employees (including 

14 contractors) or members. 

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

16 follow up services and care, or referral for such serv17 ices identified as appropriate as a result of the 

18 screenings or prevention programs and protocol de19 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

20 ‘‘(c) GRANT TERMS.—A grant awarded under sub21 section (a)— 

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

23 ‘‘(2) may be renewed subject to the require24 ments of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—A health care pro2 vider seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit 

3 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man4 ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec5 retary may require. 

6 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to applica7 tions from health care providers located in current or 

8 former COVID–19 hotspots, as determined by the Sec9 retary or health care providers which have diagnosed or 

10 treated a higher share of COVID–19 patients, as deter11 mined by the Secretary. 

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

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

14 Secretary a report evaluating the activities supported by 

15 the grant. 

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

17 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro18 priated $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 

19 through 2024.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON HEALTH CARE PRO21 FESSIONAL MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

22 HEALTH AND BURNOUT. 

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

24 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.), as amended by secVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Apr 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S610.IS S610

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1 tion 4, is further amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

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

4 PROFESSIONAL MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

5 HEALTH AND BURNOUT. 

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

7 with stakeholders, shall conduct a review and submit rec8 ommendations to Congress on policies to improve health 

9 care professional mental health and prevent burnout. 

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

11 (a) shall focus on identifying— 

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

13 behavioral health conditions and burnout among 

14 health care professionals; 

15 ‘‘(2) the barriers to seeking and accessing men16 tal and behavioral health treatment for health care 

17 professionals, including stigma and concerns about 

18 licensing and credentialing; 

19 ‘‘(3) the implications of poor mental and behav20 ioral health and burnout among health care profes21 sionals for the health care system, the health care 

22 workforce, and patient outcomes; 

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

24 on the mental and behavioral health of health care 


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1 professionals and related preparedness strategies for 

2 future health emergencies; 

3 ‘‘(5) the factors that promote mental and be4 havioral health and resiliency among health care 

5 professionals, including programs or protocols that 

6 strengthen mental and behavioral health or prevent 

7 burnout among health care professionals; and 

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

9 programs that promote resiliency and improve men10 tal health. 

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

12 subsection (a) shall include recommendations related to— 

13 ‘‘(1) improving mental and behavioral health 

14 and preventing burnout among health care profes15 sionals; 

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

17 health care for health care professionals; and 

18 ‘‘(3) strategies to promote resiliency among 

19 health care professionals and other employees and 

20 contractors in health care settings. 

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

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

23 to Congress and made publicly available not later than 3 

24 years after the date of enactment of this section. 


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

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

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

4 2024.’’. 

Æ 


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