IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1667 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

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. DISSEMINATION OF BEST PRACTICES. 

5 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 

7 Services (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

8 identify and disseminate evidence-based or evidence-in9 formed best practices for preventing suicide and improving 

10 mental health and resiliency among health care profes11 sionals, and for training health care professionals in ap12 propriate strategies to promote their mental health. Such 

13 best practices shall include recommendations related to 

14 preventing suicide and improving mental health and resil15 iency among health care professionals. 

16 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS INITIATIVE ENCOUR17 AGING USE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUB18 STANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES BY 

19 HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 

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

21 with relevant stakeholders, including medical professional 

22 associations, shall establish a national evidence-based or 

23 evidence-informed education and awareness initiative— 

24 (1) to encourage health care professionals to 

25 seek support and care for their mental health or 

26 substance use concerns, to help such professionals 


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1 identify risk factors associated with suicide and 

2 mental health conditions, and to help such profes3 sionals learn how best to respond to such risks, with 

4 the goal of preventing suicide, mental health condi5 tions, and substance use disorders; and 

6 (2) to address stigma associated with seeking 

7 mental health and substance use disorder services. 

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

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

10 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen11 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

12 Commerce of the House of Representatives an update on 

13 the activities and outcomes of the initiative under sub14 section (a), including a description of quantitative and 

15 qualitative metrics used to evaluate such activities and 

16 outcomes. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

18 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024. 

20 SEC. 4. PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH AMONG 

21 THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE. 

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

23 Service Act (42 U.S.C.. 294n et seq.) is amended by add24 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 764. PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH 

2 AMONG THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WORK3 FORCE. 

4 ‘‘(a) PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH

5 AMONG HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS.— 

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

7 grants or contracts to health care entities, including 

8 entities that provide health care services, such as 

9 hospitals, community health centers, and rural 

10 health clinics, or to medical professional associa11 tions, to establish or enhance evidence-based or evi12 dence-informed programs dedicated to improving 

13 mental health and resiliency for health care profes14 sionals. 

15 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiv16 ing a grant or contract under this subsection shall 

17 use funds received through the grant or contract to 

18 implement a new program or enhance an existing 

19 program to promote mental health among health 

20 care professionals, which may include— 

21 ‘‘(A) improving awareness among health 

22 care professionals about risk factors for, and 

23 signs of, suicide and mental health or substance 

24 use disorders, in accordance with evidence25 based or evidence-informed practices; 


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1 ‘‘(B) establishing new, or enhancing exist2 ing, evidence-based or evidence-informed pro3 grams for preventing suicide and improving 

4 mental health and resiliency among health care 

5 professionals; 

6 ‘‘(C) establishing new, or enhancing exist7 ing, peer-support programs among health care 

8 professionals; or 

9 ‘‘(D) providing mental health care, follow10 up services and care, or referral for such serv11 ices and care, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants and con13 tracts under this subsection, the Secretary shall give 

14 priority to eligible entities in health professional 

15 shortage areas or rural areas. 

16 ‘‘(b) TRAINING GRANTS.—The Secretary may estab17 lish a program to award grants to health professions 

18 schools, academic health centers, State or local govern19 ments, Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, or other ap20 propriate public or private nonprofit entities (or consortia 

21 of entities, including entities promoting multidisciplinary 

22 approaches) to support the training of health care stu23 dents, residents, or health care professionals in evidence24 based or evidence-informed strategies to address mental 


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1 and substance use disorders and improve mental health 

2 and resiliency among health care professionals. 

3 ‘‘(c) GRANT TERMS.—A grant or contract awarded 

4 under subsection (a) or (b) shall be for a period of 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—An entity seeking 

6 a grant or contract under subsection (a) or (b) shall sub7 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

8 manner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec9 retary may require. 

10 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—An entity awarded a grant or con11 tract under subsection (a) or (b) shall periodically submit 

12 to the Secretary a report evaluating the activities sup13 ported by the grant or contract. 

14 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

15 carry out this section and section 5 of the Dr. Lorna 

16 Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, there are au17 thorized to be appropriated $35,000,000 for each of fiscal 

18 years 2022 through 2024.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. REVIEW WITH RESPECT TO HEALTH CARE PROFES20 SIONAL MENTAL HEALTH AND RESILIENCY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta23 tion with relevant stakeholders, shall— 


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1 (1) conduct a review on improving health care 

2 professional mental health and the outcomes of pro3 grams authorized under this Act; and 

4 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the re5 sults of such review. 

6 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—The review under subsection 

7 (a) shall take into account— 

8 (1) the prevalence and severity of mental health 

9 conditions among health professionals, and factors 

10 that contribute to those mental health conditions; 

11 (2) barriers to seeking and accessing mental 

12 health care for health care professionals, which may 

13 include consideration of stigma and licensing con14 cerns, and actions taken by State licensing boards, 

15 schools for health professionals, health care profes16 sional training associations, hospital associations, or 

17 other organizations, as appropriate, to address such 

18 barriers; 

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

20 emergency on the mental health of health care pro21 fessionals and lessons learned for future public 

22 health emergencies; 

23 (4) factors that promote mental health and re24 siliency among health care professionals, including 


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1 programs or strategies to strengthen mental health 

2 and resiliency among health care professionals; and 

3 (5) the efficacy of health professional training 

4 programs that promote resiliency and improve men5 tal health. 

6 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The review under sub7 section (a), as appropriate, shall identify best practices re8 lated to, and make recommendations to address— 

9 (1) improving mental health and resiliency 

10 among health care professionals; 

11 (2) removing barriers to mental health care for 

12 health care professionals; and 

13 (3) strategies to promote resiliency among 

14 health care professionals in health care settings. 

15 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

16 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

18 shall submit to the Congress a report on the extent to 

19 which Federal substance use disorder and mental health 

20 grant programs address the prevalence and severity of 

21 mental health conditions and substance use disorders 

22 among health professionals. Such report shall— 

23 (1) include an analysis of available evidence and 

24 data related to such conditions and programs; and 


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1 (2) assess whether there are duplicative goals 

2 and objectives among such grant programs. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 

2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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