I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7617 
To provide for a national public health education campaign, grant program, 
and task force for recommended preventive health care services during 
the COVID–19 pandemic and future pandemics, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2022 
Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for a national public health education campaign, 
grant program, and task force for recommended preven-
tive health care services during the COVID–19 pandemic 
and future pandemics, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventive Care 
Awareness Act of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN REGARDING PREVENT-
ATIVE HEALTH. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (re-
ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in consultation 
with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the Surgeon General of the Public Health 
Service, and the Administrator of the Centers for Medi-
care & Medicaid Services, shall carry out a coordinated, 
focused national public health education effort to enhance 
access by individuals and providers to evidence-based and 
evidence-informed health information about preventive 
health care, with particular consideration for decreasing 
disparities in utilization of recommended preventive health 
care services by individuals in rural and underserved com-
munities who have delayed or forgone receiving rec-
ommended clinical preventive health care services during 
the COVID–19 pandemic. 
SEC. 3. COVID–19 PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) USE OF ALLOTMENTS.—Section 1904 of the Pub-
lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300w–3) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 
through (G) as subparagraphs (F) through (H), 
respectively; 
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(B) in subparagraph (G), as redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘(A) through (E)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(A) through (F)’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (H), as redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘(A) through (F)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(A) through (G)’’; and 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 
the following: 
‘‘(E) Activities to increase patient uptake of 
recommended clinical preventive health care services 
during the COVID–19 pandemic, with particular 
consideration for decreasing disparities in utilization 
of such preventive health care services by reaching 
individuals in geographically diverse rural and un-
derserved communities who have delayed or forgone 
receiving recommended clinical preventive health 
care services during the COVID–19 pandemic.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b), in the matter following 
paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(E)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(F)’’. 
(b) ALLOTTED AMOUNT.—Subsection (a) of section 
1904 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300w– 
3) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) Of the total amount paid to the States under 
section 1903 for each of fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the 
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Secretary shall ensure that the States, in the aggregate, 
use at least $50,000,000 for activities under paragraph 
(1)(E).’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
1920(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300x–9(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘In addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated 
by the preceding sentence, for the purpose of carrying out 
paragraphs (1)(E) and (4) of section 1904, there is au-
thorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2023 and 2024.’’. 
SEC. 4. TASK FORCE ON PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE DUR-
ING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 
(a) TASK FORCE ON PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE IN 
RESPONSE TO THE COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMER-
GENCY.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall con-
vene a task force to develop Federal recommenda-
tions regarding preventive health care during the 
COVID–19 pandemic and future pandemics. 
(2) DUTIES.—The task force established under 
paragraph (1) shall develop and publicly post, in a 
manner than is accessible for those with disabilities 
or limited English proficiency, Federal recommenda-
tions to promote preventive health care visits and 
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improve health outcomes during and after the 
COVID–19 pandemic and during future pandemics, 
with particular consideration for outcomes of rural 
or underserved communities. Such recommendations 
shall— 
(A) address, with particular attention to 
ensuring equitable services, reducing disparities 
in health outcomes, and promoting culturally 
and linguistically appropriate care— 
(i) measures to facilitate preventive 
health care; 
(ii) strategies to increase access to 
care for individuals at high risk or with 
elevated risk factors; 
(iii) how to identify, prevent, and 
treat mental health and substance use dis-
orders which may have arisen or increased 
during the COVID–19 pandemic; 
(iv) strategies to address provision of 
preventive health care services, maintain 
the delivery of common health services and 
preventive health care services, and in-
crease the ability to accommodate patient 
care preferences while maintaining safety 
and quality; and 
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(v) such other matters as the task 
force determines appropriate; 
(B) identify barriers to the implementation 
of the recommendations; 
(C) take into consideration existing State 
programs and other programs that have dem-
onstrated effectiveness in promoting preventive 
health care during the COVID–19 pandemic, 
for purposes of future public health emer-
gencies; and 
(D) identify— 
(i) policies specific to COVID–19 that, 
as the public health emergency declared 
with respect to COVID–19 under section 
319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 247d) abates, can be safely discon-
tinued when appropriate or necessary; and 
(ii) policies implemented during such 
public health emergency that should be 
continued. 
(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force established 
under paragraph (1) shall be comprised of the fol-
lowing: 
(A) One representative of each of the fol-
lowing: 
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(i) The Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention. 
(ii) The Administrator of the Health 
Resources and Services Administration. 
(iii) The Assistant Secretary for Men-
tal Health and Substance Use. 
(iv) The Administrator of the Centers 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 
(v) The Director of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality. 
(vi) The Director of the Indian Health 
Service. 
(vii) The Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Minority Health. 
(viii) The Director of the Office on 
Women’s Health. 
(ix) The Assistant Secretary for Pre-
paredness and Response. 
(B) Such other members as the Secretary 
determines appropriate. 
Æ 
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