II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4349 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2020 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. REED, and Mr. CASSIDY) 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’’. 

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

7 FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

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

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

10 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 764. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING TRAIN2 ING FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

3 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish a program to award grants to health professions 

5 schools, academic health centers, State or local govern6 ments, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit en7 tities for funding and participation in health professions 

8 and nursing training activities for the training of health 

9 care students, residents, or professionals in evidence-in10 formed strategies to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, 

11 behavioral health conditions, including mental health con12 ditions and substance use disorders, among health care 

13 professionals, and in evidence-informed strategies to im14 prove health care professionals’ well-being and job satis15 faction. 

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

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

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

19 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec20 retary may require. 

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

22 awarded a grant under this section shall periodically sub23 mit to the Secretary a report evaluating the activities sup24 ported by the grant. 

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

26 and disseminate evidence-informed best practices for reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4349.IS S4349

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1 ducing and preventing suicide and burnout among health 

2 care professionals, and training health care professionals 

3 in appropriate strategies and promoting their mental and 

4 behavioral health and job satisfaction. Such best practices 

5 shall include specific recommendations for reducing and 

6 preventing suicide, burnout, and other mental and behav7 ioral health concerns among health care professionals dur8 ing or in the aftermath of a pandemic, natural disaster, 

9 or other crisis. 

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

11 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro12 priated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

13 years 2021 through 2025.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ENCOUR15 AGING USE OF MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

16 HEALTH SERVICES BY HEALTH CARE PRO17 FESSIONALS. 

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

19 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

21 Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation with 

22 the medical professional community, shall establish a na23 tional evidence-based education and awareness campaign 

24 targeting health care professionals to encourage such pro25 fessionals to seek support and treatment for their own 


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1 mental and behavioral health concerns, help such profes2 sionals identify risk factors in themselves and others and 

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

4 reducing or preventing suicide, burnout, and mental and 

5 behavioral health conditions, and to address stigma associ6 ated with seeking mental and behavioral health support 

7 and treatment. 

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

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

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

11 for evaluation that includes quantitative and qualitative 

12 metrics, and a media and dissemination plan, to the Com13 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

14 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

15 the House of Representatives. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

18 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

19 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO PRO20 MOTE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 

21 AMONG THEIR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL 

22 WORKFORCE. 

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 04:06 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4349.IS S4349

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1 tion 2, is further amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

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

4 PROMOTE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

5 HEALTH AMONG THEIR HEALTH PROFES6 SIONAL WORKFORCE. 

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

8 grants to health care providers, including medical profes9 sional associations, to establish or expand evidence-in10 formed programs dedicated to promoting mental and be11 havioral health among their employees (including contrac12 tors) or members who are working on the front lines of 

13 the SARS–CoV–2 pandemic. 

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

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

16 under the grant to implement a new program or protocol 

17 or expand an existing program or protocol to promote 

18 mental and behavioral health among employees (including 

19 contractors) or members who have previously treated or 

20 otherwise served, or are currently treating or otherwise 

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

22 include any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) Educating employees, including contrac24 tors, or membership about risk factors for and signs 

25 of self-harm and suicide and mental and behavioral 


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1 health conditions in accordance with evidence-based 

2 practices and standards. 

3 ‘‘(2) Establishing new or enhancing existing 

4 evidence-based programs or protocols for preventing 

5 mental and behavioral health conditions, suicide, or 

6 self-harm. 

7 ‘‘(3) Establishing new or enhancing existing 

8 peer-support programs among employees (including 

9 contractors) or members. 

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

11 follow up services and care, or referral for such serv12 ices identified as appropriate as a result of the 

13 screenings or prevention programs and protocol de14 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

15 ‘‘(c) GRANT TERMS.—A grant awarded under sub16 section (a)— 

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

18 ‘‘(2) may be renewed subject to the require19 ments of this section. 

20 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—A health care pro21 vider seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit 

22 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man23 ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec24 retary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to applica2 tions from health care providers located in current or 

3 former COVID–19 hotspots, as determined by the Sec4 retary or health care providers which have diagnosed or 

5 treated a higher share of COVID–19 patients, as deter6 mined by the Secretary. 

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

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

9 Secretary a report evaluating the activities supported by 

10 the grant. 

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

12 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro13 priated $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2021 

14 through 2023.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON HEALTH CARE PRO16 FESSIONAL MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

17 HEALTH AND BURNOUT. 

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

19 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.), as amended by sec20 tion 4, is further amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 


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

2 PROFESSIONAL MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

3 HEALTH AND BURNOUT. 

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

5 with stakeholders, shall conduct a review and submit rec6 ommendations to Congress on policies to improve health 

7 care professional mental health and prevent burnout. 

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

9 (a) shall focus on identifying— 

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

11 behavioral health conditions and burnout among 

12 health care professionals; 

13 ‘‘(2) the barriers to seeking and accessing men14 tal and behavioral health treatment for health care 

15 professionals, including stigma and concerns about 

16 licensing and credentialing; 

17 ‘‘(3) the implications of poor mental and behav18 ioral health and burnout among health care profes19 sionals for the health care system, the health care 

20 workforce, and patient outcomes; 

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

22 on the mental and behavioral health of health care 

23 professionals and related preparedness strategies for 

24 future health emergencies; 

25 ‘‘(5) the factors that promote mental and be26 havioral health and resiliency among health care 


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1 professionals, including programs or protocols that 

2 strengthen mental and behavioral health or prevent 

3 burnout among health care professionals; and 

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

5 programs that promote resiliency and improve men6 tal health. 

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

8 subsection (a) shall include recommendations related to— 

9 ‘‘(1) improving mental and behavioral health 

10 and preventing burnout among health care profes11 sionals; 

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

13 health care for health care professionals; and 

14 ‘‘(3) strategies to promote resiliency among 

15 health care professionals and other employees and 

16 contractors in health care settings. 

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

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

19 to Congress and made publicly available not later than 3 

20 years after the date of enactment of this section. 

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

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

23 $3,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 

24 2023.’’. 

Æ 


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