II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1638 

To provide for the establishment of programs and activities to assist in 

mobilizing an appropriate healthcare workforce in the event of a health 

emergency or natural disaster. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2005 

Mr. OBAMA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of programs and activities 

to assist in mobilizing an appropriate healthcare workforce in the event of a health emergency or natural 

disaster. 

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 ‘‘Hurricane Katrina 

5 Emergency Health Workforce Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 
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1 (1) CORPS.—The term ‘‘Corps’’ means the Na2 tional Emergency Health Professionals Volunteer 

3 Corps established under section 3. 

4 (2) FEMA.—The term ‘‘FEMA’’ means the 

5 Federal Emergency Management Agency of the 

6 Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, 

7 Department of Homeland Security. 

8 (3) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—The term 

9 ‘‘health professional’’ means a physician, nurse, 

10 mental health provider, paramedic, pharmacist, pub11 lic health practitioner, veterinarian, epidemiologist, 

12 statistician, laboratorian, infectious disease spe13 cialist, and other individual provider of health-re14 lated services as designated by the Secretary. 

15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

17 SEC. 3. NATIONAL EMERGENCY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 

18 VOLUNTEER CORPS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

21 a National Emergency Health Professionals Volunteer 

22 Corps to provide for an adequate supply of health profes23 sionals in the case of a Federal, State or local emergency. 

24 The Corps shall be headed by a Director to be appointed 

25 by the Secretary. 
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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Director of the Corps shall con2 duct the following activities: 

3 (1) Analysis of need to determine the number 

4 and types of Corps volunteers that are needed. 

5 (2) Determination of minimum licensing or 

6 credentialing standards for each type of Corps vol7 unteers. 

8 (3) Recruitment and retention of health profes9 sionals. 

10 (4) Development of the Corps volunteer certifi11 cation program in accordance with subsection (d). 

12 (5) Development of training programs. 

13 (6) Development of protocols for contact and 

14 deployment of Corps volunteers. 

15 (7) Coordination of Corps volunteers with Med16 ical Reserve Corps and other volunteer networks. 

17 (c) COMPOSITION.—The Corps shall be composed of 

18 health professionals who— 

19 (1) have training and expertise in the areas of 

20 medicine, nursing, mental health, public health, 

21 pharmacy, dentistry, emergency medical services, 

22 veterinary science, laboratory science, and other 

23 areas as determined appropriate by the Director of 

24 the Corps; 
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1 (2) have been certified in accordance with the 

2 certification program developed under subsection 

3 (b)(4); 

4 (3) are geographically diverse in residence; and 

5 (4) are willing to be deployed in case of emer6 gency. 

7 (d) CERTIFICATION.—The Director of the Corps, in 

8 collaboration with the Director of FEMA and the Admin9 istrator of the Health Resources and Services Administra10 tion, shall establish a program for the periodic certifi11 cation of health professionals who volunteer for the Corps 

12 which shall include, with respect to the health professional 

13 involved, an assessment of— 

14 (1) the professional expertise and training of 

15 the professional, including licensure and 

16 credentialing as appropriate; 

17 (2) the completion by the professional of the 

18 training programs developed under subsection 

19 (b)(5), as required by the Director; and 

20 (3) the preparedness of the professional for 

21 emergency response which may include written ex22 amination and hands-on skill assessment. 

23 (e) DEPLOYMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—During a Federal, State, or 

25 local emergency (as designated by the Secretary or 
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1 the Secretary of Homeland Security), the Secretary, 

2 in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Se3 curity, shall have the authority to deploy members of 

4 the Corps to areas of need, based on the medical ex5 pertise required. 

6 (2) LIMITATION.—State and local officials shall 

7 have no authority to deploy members of the Corps, 

8 but may request the services of such members. 

9 (f) COMPENSATION, EXPENSES, AND TRANSPOR10 TATION.—While engaged in performing duties as a mem11 ber of the Corps pursuant to an assignment by the Sec12 retary (including periods of travel to facilitate such assign13 ment), members of the Corps who are not otherwise em14 ployed by the Federal Government shall be— 

15 (1) compensated for temporary or intermittent 

16 services as experts or consultants as provided for 

17 under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; 

18 and 

19 (2) allowed travel or transportation expenses, 

20 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as provided 

21 for under section 5703 of such title. 

22 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec24 essary to carry out this Act (and the amendments made 

25 by this Act) for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 
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1 SEC. 4. HEALTH PROFESSIONAL DATABASE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 12 months 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

4 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred 

5 to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’), in collaboration with 

6 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

7 Administration, State medical and nursing licensing 

8 boards, medical and nursing professional societies, and 

9 other relevant entities, shall establish a national database 

10 of health professionals (including physicians, nurses, and 

11 other health professionals determined appropriate by the 

12 Director) to increase health preparedness for Federal 

13 emergencies. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF DATABASE.—The database 

15 established under subsection (a) shall include— 

16 (1) With respect to each health professional 

17 listed in the database— 

18 (A) the name and contact information of 

19 the professional; 

20 (B) the State or States in which the pro21 fessional is licensed or certified; 

22 (C) the area or areas in which the profes23 sional has specialty or subspecialty training; 

24 and 
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1 (D) a description of the emergency re2 sponse training received by the professional; 

3 and 

4 (2) the names of each members of the Corps, 

5 the Medical Reserve Corps, the National Disaster 

6 Medical System, the Commissioned Corps of the 

7 Public Health Services, and any other relevant fed8 erally-sponsored or administered programs. 

9 (c) ACCESSIBILITY.—The Director shall ensure that 

10 the database established under subsection (a) is electroni11 cally accessible by State and local health departments. In 

12 the case of a disaster or other emergency that results in 

13 a loss of electrical power, the Director shall ensure that 

14 the affected State or locality has access to the database 

15 through other means. 

16 (d) UPDATING OF INFORMATION.—The Director 

17 shall, on at least a biennial basis, provide for the updating 

18 of the information contained in the database. 

19 SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONAL VOLUN20 TEERS. 

21 Section 4303(13) of title 38, United States Code, is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such term 

23 shall include physicians or other health professionals (as 

24 defined in section 2 of the Hurricane Katrina Emergency 

25 Health Workforce Act of 2005) who are providing medical 
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1 treatment or services related to a major disaster as de2 clared by the President under the authority of the Robert 

3 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), including members of the Na5 tional Emergency Health Professionals Volunteer Corps, 

6 health professionals who are activated by the Federal 

7 Emergency Management Agency, and other health profes8 sionals who provide services on a volunteer basis in a for9 mal capacity as determined by the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services or the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

11 The Secretary shall promulgate guidelines to implement 

12 the previous sentence.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. PREPAREDNESS TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS THAT OPERATE GRAD15 UATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—Section 340E 

16 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256e) is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(h) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE DISASTER PRE19 PAREDNESS TRAINING.—To be eligible to receive a pay20 ment under this section, a children’s hospital shall provide 

21 disaster preparedness training as part of any approved 

22 graduate medical residency training program provided by 

23 the hospital.’’. 

24 (b) MEDICARE GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION

25 PROGRAMS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1886(h) of the So2 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(h)) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(8) REQUIREMENT FOR DISASTER PREPARED5 NESS TRAINING.—In order to be eligible to receive a 

6 payment under this subsection, a hospital shall pro7 vide disaster preparedness training as part of any 

8 approved medical residency training program pro9 vided by the hospital.’’. 

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

11 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on January 1, 

12 2007. 

13 SEC. 7. LIABILITY PROTECTIONS. 

14 Section 224 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 233) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(q) VOLUNTEER SERVICES PROVIDED BY HEALTH

18 PROFESSIONALS DURING DISASTERS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, for purposes of this section, a vol21 unteer health professional shall in providing a quali22 fying health service related to a major disaster as 

23 declared by the President under the authority of the 

24 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

25 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) shall be 
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1 deemed to be an employee of the Public Health 

2 Service. The preceding sentence is subject to the 

3 provisions of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTEER HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—In 

5 providing a qualifying health service to an indi6 vidual, a health professional shall for purposes of 

7 this subsection be considered to a volunteer health 

8 professional if the following conditions are met: 

9 ‘‘(A) The service is provided to the indi10 vidual as a result of the occurrence of a major 

11 disaster as declared by the President under the 

12 authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

13 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. 

14 ‘‘(B) The service is a qualifying health 

15 service (as defined in paragraph (3)(B)). 

16 ‘‘(C) Neither the health professional or any 

17 institution receives any compensation for the 

18 service from the individual or from any third19 party payor (including reimbursement under 

20 any insurance policy or health plan, or under 

21 any Federal or State health benefits program). 

22 With respect to compliance with such condition, 

23 the health professional may receive repayment 

24 from a Federal or State agency for reasonable 
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1 expenses incurred by the health professional in 

2 the provision of the service to the individual. 

3 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—In this 

5 subsection, the term ‘health professional’ means 

6 a physician, nurse, mental health provider, 

7 pharmacist, paramedic, and other individual 

8 provider as designated by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING HEALTH SERVICE.—In 

10 this subsection, the term ‘qualifying health 

11 service’ means any medical assistance provided 

12 during, and as the result of the occupancy of, 

13 a major disaster as declared by the President 

14 under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford 

15 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. 

16 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS.—Subsection 

17 (g) (other than paragraphs (3) through (5)) and 

18 subsections (h), (i), and (l) shall apply to a volunteer 

19 health professional for purposes of this subsection to 

20 the same extent and in the same manner as such 

21 subsections apply to an officer, governing board 

22 member, employee, or contractor of an entity de23 scribed in subsection (g)(4), subject to paragraph 

24 (5) and subject to the following: 
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1 ‘‘(A) The first sentence of paragraph (1) 

2 applies in lieu of the first sentence of subsection 

3 (g)(1)(A). 

4 ‘‘(B) In the case of a health professional 

5 who is determined by the Secretary pursuant to 

6 subsection (g)(1)(E) to be a volunteer health 

7 professional, this subsection applies to the 

8 health professional (with respect to the institu9 tion or facility sponsoring the health profes10 sional for any cause of action arising from an 

11 act or omission of the health professional occur12 ring on or after the date on which the Secretary 

13 makes such determination and until the major 

14 disaster involved has ended. 

15 ‘‘(C) Subsection (g)(1)(F) applies to a 

16 health professional for purposes of this sub17 section only to the extent that, in providing 

18 health services to an individual, each of the con19 ditions specified in paragraph (2) is met. 

20 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of mak22 ing payments for judgments against the United 

23 States (together with related fees and expenses 

24 of witnesses) pursuant to this section arising 

25 from the acts or omissions of volunteer health 
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1 professionals, there is authorized such sums as 

2 may be necessary in each fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(B) FUND.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 a fund for purposes of this subsection. Each fis5 cal year amounts appropriated under subpara6 graph (A) shall be deposited in such fund. 

7 ‘‘(C) ESTIMATES.—Not later than May 1 

8 of each fiscal year, the Attorney General, in 

9 consultation with the Secretary, shall submit to 

10 the Congress a report providing an estimate of 

11 the amount of claims (together with related fees 

12 and expenses of witnesses) that, by reason of 

13 the acts or omissions of volunteer health profes14 sionals, will be paid pursuant to this subsection 

15 during the calendar year that begins in the fol16 lowing fiscal year. Subsection (k)(1)(B) applies 

17 to the estimate under the preceding sentence re18 garding volunteer health professionals to the 

19 same extent and in the same manner as such 

20 subsection applies to the estimate under such 

21 subsection regarding officers, governing board 

22 members, employees, and contractors of entities 

23 described in subsection (g)(4). 

24 ‘‘(D) TRANSFERS.—Not later than Decem25 ber 31 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
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1 transfer from the fund under subparagraph (B) 

2 to the appropriate accounts in the Treasury an 

3 amount equal to the estimate made under sub4 paragraph (C) for the calendar year beginning 

5 in such fiscal year, subject to the extent of 

6 amounts in the fund. 

7 ‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue 

8 regulations for carrying out this subsection.’’. 

9 SEC. 8. SUSPENSION OF STATE LICENSURE REQUIRE10 MENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of law, the Secretary shall have the authority to sus13 pend the application of State health professional licensing 

14 and certification requirements with respect to health pro15 fessionals that are operating in such State during a major 

16 disaster as declared by the President under the authority 

17 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

18 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) pursuant to an 

19 assignment or request for services from the Secretary, the 

20 Director of FEMA, or the Director of the Corps. This sub21 section shall only be applicable with respect to health pro22 fessionals who are licensed or certified in a State other 

23 than the State in which the disaster is occurring. 

24 (b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply in 

25 the case of health professionals who have had their license 
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1 or certification suspended or revoked, or who are the sub2 ject of a disciplinary action at the time of the application 

3 of such subsection. 

4 SEC. 9. GENERAL WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec6 retary and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have 

7 the authority to waive any requirement of Federal law ap8 plicable to health professions if such requirement would 

9 limit the ability of health professionals to provide volun10 teer medical services related to a major disaster as de11 clared by the President under the authority of the Robert 

12 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

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