I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3119 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of permanent 
faculty in palliative care at accredited allopathic and osteopathic medical 
schools, nursing schools, social work schools, and other programs, includ-
ing physician assistant education programs, to promote education and 
research in palliative care and hospice, and to support the development 
of faculty careers in academic palliative medicine. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2015 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. REED, and Mr. CLEAVER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the 
number of permanent faculty in palliative care at accred-
ited allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, nursing 
schools, social work schools, and other programs, includ-
ing physician assistant education programs, to promote 
education and research in palliative care and hospice, 
and to support the development of faculty careers in 
academic palliative medicine. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Palliative Care and 
Hospice Education and Training Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Health care providers need better education 
about pain management and palliative care. Stu-
dents graduating from medical school have very lit-
tle, if any, training in the core precepts of pain and 
symptom management, advance care planning, com-
munication skills, and care coordination for patients 
with serious, life-threatening, or terminal illness. 
(2) Palliative care is interdisciplinary, patient- 
and family-centered health care for people with seri-
ous illnesses. This type of care is focused on pro-
viding patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, 
and stress of a serious illness, whatever the diag-
nosis. The goal of palliative care is to relieve suf-
fering and improve quality of life for both patients 
and their families. Palliative care is provided by a 
team of doctors, nurses, social workers, physician as-
sistants, chaplains, and other specialists who work 
with a patient’s other health care providers to pro-
vide an extra layer of support, including assistance 
with difficult medical decisionmaking and coordina-
tion of care among specialists. Palliative care is ap-
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propriate at any age and at any stage in a serious 
illness, and can be provided together with curative 
treatment. Palliative care is not dependent on a life- 
limiting prognosis and may actually help an indi-
vidual recover from illness by relieving symptoms, 
such as pain, anxiety, or loss of appetite, while un-
dergoing sometimes difficult medical treatments or 
procedures, such as surgery or chemotherapy. In 
2013, 1,744 United States hospitals with 50 or more 
beds had a palliative care program. 
(3) Hospice is palliative care for patients in 
their last year of life. Considered the model for qual-
ity compassionate care for individuals facing a life- 
limiting illness, hospice provides expert medical care, 
pain management, and emotional and spiritual sup-
port expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and 
wishes. In most cases, care is provided in the pa-
tient’s home but may also be provided in free-
standing hospice centers, hospitals, nursing homes, 
and other long-term care facilities. In 2012, an esti-
mated 1.5 million to 1.6 million patients received 
services from hospice, including non-Medicare bene-
ficiaries. Nearly 45 percent of all deaths in the 
United States in 2011 occurred under the care of a 
hospice program. Hospice is a covered benefit under 
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the Medicare program. There were 3,782 Medicare- 
certified hospices serving more than 1,200,000 Medi-
care beneficiaries in 2012. 
(4) Despite a high intensity of medical treat-
ment, many seriously ill patients experience trou-
bling symptoms, unmet psychological and personal 
care needs, and high caregiver burden. Numerous 
studies have shown that adding palliative care can 
improve pain and symptom control, quality of life, 
and family satisfaction with care. 
(5) A 2005 study at Michigan State University 
found that the formal training of United States doc-
tors in palliative care is ‘‘grossly inadequate’’. When 
the American Society of Clinical Oncology surveyed 
their members, 65 percent said they had received in-
adequate education in controlling symptoms associ-
ated with cancer, and 81 percent felt they had inad-
equate mentoring in discussing a poor prognosis 
with their patients and families. Training in pedi-
atric palliative care is also seriously lacking accord-
ing to physicians, residents, and medical students re-
sponding to a survey presented at a meeting of 
American Federation for Medical Research. 
(6) The American Board of Medical Specialties 
(ABMS) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate 
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Medical Education (ACGME) provided formal sub-
specialty status for hospice and palliative medicine 
(HPM) in 2006, and the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services recognized hospice and palliative 
medicine as a medical subspecialty in October of 
2008. 
(7) As of April 2015, there were a total of 106 
hospice and palliative medicine training programs 
accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate 
Medical Education. For the 2014–2015 academic 
year, these programs were training 265 physicians in 
hospice and palliative medicine. Some programs in-
clude an additional track in research, geriatrics, pe-
diatrics, or public health. 
(8) There is a large gap between those prac-
ticing in the palliative medicine field and the number 
of physicians needed. A mid-range estimate by the 
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medi-
cine’s Workforce Task Force calls for 6,000 or more 
full-time equivalents to serve current needs in hos-
pice and palliative care programs. At maximum ca-
pacity, the current system would produce roughly 
5,300 new hospice and palliative medicine certified 
physicians over the next 20 years, during which time 
some 70,000,000 new Medicare beneficiaries will 
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enter the Medicare program. At the same time, there 
is expected to be increasing acceptance of the hos-
pice and palliative approach to care among the gen-
eral population and health care providers. 
(9) According to the Institute of Medicine, 
there is a ‘‘need for better understanding of the role 
of palliative care among both the public and profes-
sionals across the continuum of care so that hospice 
and palliative care can achieve their full potential for 
patients and their families’’. 
SEC. 3. PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION AND 
TRAINING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title VII of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 759A. PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION 
AND TRAINING. 
‘‘(a) PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION 
CENTERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 
grants or contracts under this section to entities de-
scribed in paragraph (1), (3), or (4) of section 
799B, and section 801(2), for the establishment or 
operation of Palliative Care and Hospice Education 
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Centers that meet the requirements of paragraph 
(2). 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A Palliative Care and 
Hospice Education Center meets the requirements of 
this paragraph if such Center— 
‘‘(A) improves the training of health pro-
fessionals in palliative care, including residen-
cies, traineeships, or fellowships; 
‘‘(B) develops and disseminates curricula 
relating to the palliative treatment of the com-
plex health problems of individuals with serious 
or life threatening illnesses; 
‘‘(C) supports the training and retraining 
of faculty to provide instruction in palliative 
care; 
‘‘(D) supports continuing education of 
health professionals who provide palliative care 
to patients with serious or life threatening ill-
ness; 
‘‘(E) provides students (including resi-
dents, trainees, and fellows) with clinical train-
ing in palliative care in long-term care facilities, 
home care, hospices, chronic and acute disease 
hospitals, and ambulatory care centers; 
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‘‘(F) establishes traineeships for individ-
uals who are preparing for advanced education 
nursing degrees, social work degrees, or ad-
vanced degrees in physician assistant studies, 
with a focus in palliative care in long-term care 
facilities, home care, hospices, chronic and 
acute disease hospitals, and ambulatory care 
centers; and 
‘‘(G) does not duplicate the activities of ex-
isting education centers funded under this sec-
tion or under section 753 or 865. 
‘‘(3) EXPANSION
OF
EXISTING
CENTERS.— 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to— 
‘‘(A) prevent the Secretary from providing 
grants to expand existing education centers, in-
cluding geriatric education centers established 
under section 753 or 865, to provide for edu-
cation and training focused specifically on pal-
liative care, including for non-geriatric popu-
lations; or 
‘‘(B) limit the number of education centers 
that may be funded in a community. 
‘‘(b) PALLIATIVE MEDICINE PHYSICIAN TRAINING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 
grants to, and enter into contracts with, schools of 
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medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, teaching 
hospitals, and graduate medical education programs, 
for the purpose of providing support for projects 
that fund the training of physicians (including resi-
dents, trainees, and fellows) who plan to teach pal-
liative medicine. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project for which 
a grant or contract is made under this subsection 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be staffed by full-time teaching physi-
cians who have experience or training in pallia-
tive medicine; 
‘‘(B) be based in a hospice and palliative 
medicine fellowship program accredited by the 
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical 
Education; 
‘‘(C) provide training in palliative medicine 
through a variety of service rotations, such as 
consultation services, acute care services, ex-
tended care facilities, ambulatory care and com-
prehensive evaluation units, hospice, home 
health, and community care programs; 
‘‘(D) develop specific performance-based 
measures to evaluate the competency of train-
ees; and 
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‘‘(E) provide training in palliative medicine 
through one or both of the training options de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para-
graph (3). 
‘‘(3) TRAINING OPTIONS.—The training options 
referred to in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) 
shall be as follows: 
‘‘(A) 1-year retraining programs in hospice 
and palliative medicine for physicians who are 
faculty at schools of medicine and osteopathic 
medicine, or others determined appropriate by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) 1- or 2-year training programs that 
shall be designed to provide training in hospice 
and palliative medicine for physicians who have 
completed graduate medical education programs 
in any medical specialty leading to board eligi-
bility in hospice and palliative medicine pursu-
ant to the American Board of Medical Special-
ties. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section the term ‘graduate medical education’ means 
a program sponsored by a school of medicine, a 
school of osteopathic medicine, a hospital, or a pub-
lic or private institution that— 
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‘‘(A) offers postgraduate medical training 
in the specialties and subspecialties of medicine; 
and 
‘‘(B) has been accredited by the Accredita-
tion Council for Graduate Medical Education or 
the American Osteopathic Association through 
its Committee on Postdoctoral Training. 
‘‘(c) PALLIATIVE MEDICINE
AND HOSPICE ACA-
DEMIC CAREER AWARDS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec-
retary shall establish a program to provide awards, 
to be known as the ‘Palliative Medicine and Hospice 
Academic Career Awards’, to eligible individuals to 
promote the career development of such individuals 
as academic hospice and palliative care physicians. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—To be eligible to 
receive an award under paragraph (1), an individual 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be board certified or board eligible in 
hospice and palliative medicine; and 
‘‘(B) have a junior (non-tenured) faculty 
appointment at an accredited (as determined by 
the Secretary) school of medicine or osteopathic 
medicine. 
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‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—No award under para-
graph (1) may be made to an eligible individual un-
less the individual— 
‘‘(A) has submitted to the Secretary an ap-
plication, at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, and the Secretary has approved 
such application; 
‘‘(B) provides, in such form and manner as 
the Secretary may require, assurances that the 
individual will meet the service requirement de-
scribed in paragraph (6); and 
‘‘(C) provides, in such form and manner as 
the Secretary may require, assurances that the 
individual has a full-time faculty appointment 
in a health professions institution and docu-
mented commitment from such institution to 
spend a majority of the total funded time of 
such individual on teaching and developing 
skills in interdisciplinary education in palliative 
care. 
‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—An eligible 
individual who receives an award under paragraph 
(1) shall provide assurances to the Secretary that 
funds provided to the eligible individual under this 
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subsection will be used only to supplement, not to 
supplant, the amount of Federal, State, and local 
funds otherwise expended by the eligible individual. 
‘‘(5) AMOUNT AND TERM.— 
‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—The amount of an award 
under this subsection shall be equal to the 
award amount provided for under section 
753(c)(5)(A) for the fiscal year involved. 
‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of an award made 
under this subsection shall not exceed 5 years. 
‘‘(C) PAYMENT
TO
INSTITUTION.—The 
Secretary shall make payments for awards 
under this subsection to institutions which in-
clude schools of medicine and osteopathic medi-
cine. 
‘‘(6) SERVICE
REQUIREMENT.—An individual 
who receives an award under this subsection shall 
provide training in palliative care and hospice, in-
cluding the training of interdisciplinary teams of 
health care professionals. The provision of such 
training shall constitute a majority of the total fund-
ed obligations of such individual under the award. 
‘‘(d) PALLIATIVE
CARE
WORKFORCE
DEVELOP-
MENT.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 
grants or contracts under this subsection to entities 
that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Edu-
cation Center pursuant to subsection (a)(1). 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for an 
award under paragraph (1), an entity described in 
such paragraph shall submit to the Secretary an ap-
plication at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may re-
quire. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts awarded under 
a grant or contract under paragraph (1) shall be 
used to carry out the fellowship program described 
in paragraph (4). 
‘‘(4) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Pursuant to para-
graph (3), a Palliative Care and Hospice Edu-
cation Center that receives an award under this 
subsection shall use such funds to offer short- 
term intensive courses (referred to in this sub-
section as a ‘fellowship’) that focus on palliative 
care that provide supplemental training for fac-
ulty members in medical schools and other 
health professions schools with programs in 
psychology, pharmacy, nursing, social work, 
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physician assistant education, chaplaincy, or 
other health disciplines, as approved by the Sec-
retary. Such a fellowship shall be open to cur-
rent faculty, and appropriately credentialed vol-
unteer faculty and practitioners, who do not 
have formal training in palliative care, to up-
grade their knowledge and clinical skills for the 
care of individuals with serious or life-threat-
ening illness and to enhance their interdiscipli-
nary and interprofessional teaching skills. 
‘‘(B) LOCATION.—A fellowship under this 
paragraph shall be offered either at the Pallia-
tive Care and Hospice Education Center that is 
sponsoring the course, in collaboration with 
other Palliative Care and Hospice Education 
Centers, or at medical schools, schools of nurs-
ing, schools of pharmacy, schools of social work, 
schools of chaplaincy or pastoral care education, 
graduate programs in psychology, physician as-
sistant education programs, or other health pro-
fessions schools approved by the Secretary with 
which the Centers are affiliated. 
‘‘(C) CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT.— 
Participation in a fellowship under this para-
graph shall be accepted with respect to com-
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plying with continuing health profession edu-
cation requirements. As a condition of such ac-
ceptance, the recipient shall subsequently pro-
vide a minimum of 18 hours of voluntary in-
struction in palliative care content (that has 
been approved by a palliative care and hospice 
education center) to students or trainees in 
health-related educational, home, hospice, or 
long-term care settings. 
‘‘(5) TARGETS.—A Palliative Care and Hospice 
Education Center that receives an award under this 
subsection shall meet targets approved by the Sec-
retary for providing palliative care training to a cer-
tain number of faculty or practitioners during the 
term of the award, as well as other parameters es-
tablished by the Secretary. 
‘‘(6) AMOUNT
OF
AWARD.—An award under 
this subsection shall be in an amount of $150,000. 
Not more than 24 Palliative Care and Hospice Edu-
cation Centers may receive an award under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(7) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A Palliative 
Care and Hospice Education Center that receives an 
award under this subsection shall provide assurances 
to the Secretary that funds provided to the Center 
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under the award will be used only to supplement, 
not to supplant, the amount of Federal, State, and 
local funds otherwise expended by such Center. 
‘‘(e) PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE CAREER IN-
CENTIVE AWARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 
grants or contracts under this subsection to individ-
uals described in paragraph (2) to foster greater in-
terest among a variety of health professionals in en-
tering the field of palliative care. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—To be eligible to 
receive an award under paragraph (1), an individual 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be an advanced practice nurse, a so-
cial worker, physician assistant, pharmacist, 
chaplain, or student of psychology who is pur-
suing a doctorate, masters, or other advanced 
degree with a focus in palliative care or related 
fields in an accredited health professions school; 
and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Secretary an applica-
tion at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may 
require. 
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‘‘(3) CONDITIONS OF AWARD.—As a condition 
of receiving an award under this subsection, an indi-
vidual shall agree that, following completion of the 
award period, the individual will teach or practice 
palliative care in health-related educational, home, 
hospice or long-term care settings for a minimum of 
5 years under guidelines established by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(4) PAYMENT
TO
INSTITUTION.—The Sec-
retary shall make payments for awards under this 
subsection to institutions which include schools of 
medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, social work, 
psychology, chaplaincy or pastoral care education, 
dentistry, and pharmacy, or other allied health dis-
cipline in an accredited health professions school or 
program (such as a physician assistant education 
program) that is approved by the Secretary. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 
$44,100,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 through 
2020.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall be effective beginning on the date that 
is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 4. HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE NURSING. 
(a) PREFERENCE
FOR GRANTS
OR AWARDS
FOR 
NURSING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.—Sec-
tion 805 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
296d) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or help’’ and inserting ‘‘help’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting the following before the period 
at the end: ‘‘, or for education and training in hos-
pice and palliative nursing’’. 
(b) ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS.—Sec-
tion 811 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
296j) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
paragraph (3); 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1), the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) palliative care and hospice career incentive 
awards authorized under section 759A(e); and’’; and 
(D) in subsection (g)(2), by inserting ‘‘or 
for education and training in hospice and pal-
liative nursing’’ after ‘‘section 332’’. 
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(c) NURSE EDUCATION, PRACTICE, AND QUALITY 
GRANTS.—Section 831 of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 296p) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (1); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) education and training in hospice and pal-
liative nursing.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting ‘‘hospice 
and palliative nursing,’’ after ‘‘coordinated care,’’. 
(d) NURSE RETENTION GRANTS.—Section 831A of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p–1) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall also give pref-
erence to applicants with programs that include ini-
tiatives to train nurses in hospice and palliative 
nursing.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘The Secretary may also award grants to, 
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or enter into contracts with, eligible entities to train 
nurses in hospice and palliative nursing.’’. 
(e) ADDITIONAL PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE 
EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Part D of title 
VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 832. PALLIATIVE CARE AND HOSPICE EDUCATION 
AND TRAINING. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 
award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement, 
in coordination with programs under section 759A, pro-
grams and initiatives to train and educate individuals in 
providing palliative care in health-related educational, hos-
pice, home, or long-term care settings. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under subsection (a) shall use funds under such 
grant to— 
‘‘(1) provide training to individuals who will 
provide palliative care in health-related educational, 
home, hospice, or long-term care settings; 
‘‘(2) develop and disseminate curricula relating 
to palliative care in health-related educational, home, 
hospice, or long-term care settings; 
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‘‘(3) train faculty members in palliative care in 
health-related educational, home, hospice, or long- 
term care settings; or 
‘‘(4) provide continuing education to individuals 
who provide palliative care in health-related edu-
cational, home, hospice, or long-term care settings. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a 
grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ shall include a school of 
nursing, a health care facility, a program leading to cer-
tification as a certified nurse assistant, a partnership of 
such a school and facility, or a partnership of such a pro-
gram and facility. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.’’. 
SEC. 5. NATIONAL PALLIATIVE CARE EDUCATION AND 
AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. 
Part A of title IX of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 299 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 904. NATIONAL PALLIATIVE CARE EDUCATION AND 
AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Under the authority under sec-
tion 902(a) to disseminate information on health care and 
on systems for the delivery of such care, the Director shall 
provide for the planning and implementation of a national 
education and awareness campaign to inform patients, 
families, and health professionals about the benefits of 
palliative care throughout the continuum of care for pa-
tients with serious or life-threatening illness. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION DISSEMINATED.— 
‘‘(1) MANDATORY
INFORMATION.—The cam-
paign under subsection (a) shall include dissemina-
tion of the following: 
‘‘(A) PALLIATIVE CARE.—Information, re-
sources, and communication materials about 
palliative care as an essential part of the con-
tinuum of quality care for patients and families 
facing serious or life-threatening illness (includ-
ing cancer; heart, kidney, liver, lung, and infec-
tious diseases; as well as neurodegenerative dis-
ease such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or 
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)). 
‘‘(B) PALLIATIVE
CARE
SERVICES.—Spe-
cific information regarding the services provided 
to patients by professionals trained in hospice 
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and palliative care, including pain and symptom 
management, support for shared decisionmak-
ing, care coordination, psychosocial care, and 
spiritual care, explaining that such services may 
be provided starting at the point of diagnosis 
and alongside curative treatment and are in-
tended to— 
‘‘(i) provide patient-centered and fam-
ily-centered support throughout the con-
tinuum of care for serious and life-threat-
ening illness; 
‘‘(ii) anticipate, prevent, and treat 
physical, emotional, social, and spiritual 
suffering; 
‘‘(iii) optimize quality of life; and 
‘‘(iv) facilitate and support goals and 
values of patients and the families of pa-
tients. 
‘‘(C) PALLIATIVE CARE PROFESSIONALS.— 
Specific materials that explain the role of pro-
fessionals trained in hospice and palliative care 
in providing team-based care (including pain 
and symptom management, support for shared 
decisionmaking, care coordination, psychosocial 
care, and spiritual care) for patients and fami-
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lies throughout the continuum of care for seri-
ous or life-threatening illness. 
‘‘(D) 
RESEARCH.—Evidence-based 
re-
search demonstrating the benefits of patient ac-
cess to palliative care throughout the continuum 
of care for serious or life-threatening illness. 
‘‘(E) POPULATION-SPECIFIC MATERIALS.— 
Materials shall be developed that target specific 
populations, including patients with serious or 
life-threatening illness who are among medically 
underserved populations (as defined in section 
330(b)(3)) and families of such patients or 
health professionals serving medically under-
served populations. Such populations shall in-
clude pediatric patients, young adult and ado-
lescent patients, racial and ethnic minority pop-
ulations, and other priority populations speci-
fied by the Director. 
‘‘(2) OTHER INFORMATION.—In addition to the 
information described in paragraph (1), such cam-
paign may include dissemination of such other infor-
mation as the Director determines to be relevant. 
‘‘(3) INFORMATION FORMAT.—The information 
and materials required to be disseminated under 
paragraph (1) and any information disseminated 
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under paragraph (2) shall be presented in a variety 
of formats (such as posted online, in print, and 
through public service announcements). 
‘‘(4) REQUIRED
PUBLICATION.—The informa-
tion and materials required to be disseminated under 
paragraph (1) and any information disseminated 
under paragraph (2) shall be posted on the Internet 
web sites of relevant Federal agencies and Depart-
ments, including the Agency for Healthcare Re-
search and Quality, the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services, the Administration on Aging, the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—The Director shall consult 
with appropriate professional societies, hospice and pallia-
tive care stakeholders, and relevant patient advocate orga-
nizations with respect to palliative care, psychosocial care, 
and complex chronic illness with respect to the following: 
‘‘(1) The planning and implementation of the 
national palliative care education and awareness 
campaign under this section. 
‘‘(2) The development of information to be dis-
seminated under this section. 
‘‘(3) A definition of the term ‘serious or life- 
threatening illness’ for purposes of this section.’’. 
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SEC. 6. ENHANCING NIH RESEARCH IN PALLIATIVE CARE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 409K. ENHANCING RESEARCH IN PALLIATIVE CARE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall de-
velop and implement a strategy to be applied across the 
institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health 
to expand national research programs in palliative care. 
‘‘(b) RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—The Director of the 
National Institutes of Health shall expand and intensify 
research programs in palliative care to address the quality 
of care and quality of life for the rapidly growing popu-
lation of patients in the United States with serious or life- 
threatening illnesses, including cancer; heart, kidney, liver, 
lung, and infectious diseases; as well as neurodegenerative 
disease such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or 
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).’’. 
(b) EXPANDING TRANS-NIH RESEARCH REPORTING 
TO INCLUDE PALLIATIVE CARE RESEARCH.—Section 
402A(c)(2)(B)(i) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 282a(c)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and, 
beginning January 1, 2017, for conducting or supporting 
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