public health workforce has no formal public health 
or prevention training. There is no national, uniform 
credentialing system for public health or prevention 
workers that would ensure that these workers are 
trained in the basics of preventive care. 
(9) A system that promoted full use of high-pri-
ority prevention could save lives. A recent com-
prehensive assessment found that 1,200,000 quality- 
adjusted life years could be saved by achieving 90 
percent use of just the following 3 services: 
(A) Smoking cessation counseling. 
(B) Use of aspirin to prevent heart at-
tacks. 
(C) Screening for colorectal cancer. 
(10) A system that promoted full use of high- 
priority prevention could reduce costs. For example, 
complete, routine childhood vaccination could save 
up to $40,000,000,000 in direct and societal costs 
over time. Promoting screenings and behavioral 
modifications in the workplace can lower absentee-
ism and, in most cases, health costs to firms. Pre-
ventive health care services could reduce Government 
spending on health care. If all elderly received a flu 
vaccine, health costs could be reduced by nearly 
$1,000,000,000 per year. Over 25 years, Medicare 
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could save an estimated $890,000,000,000 from ef-
fective 
control 
of 
hypertension, 
and 
$1,000,000,000,000 from returning to levels of obe-
sity observed in the 1980s. 
(11) Investing in community-level interventions 
that promote and enable proper nutrition, increased 
access to physical activity, and smoking cessation 
programs can prevent and mitigate chronic diseases, 
improve quality of life, increase economic produc-
tivity, and reduce health care costs. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 
a 21st century prevention system called the Wellness 
Trust that assures access to clinical and community-level 
prevention services that improve health, quality of life, and 
reduce health care costs. 
SEC. 3. WELLNESS TRUST. 
Title III of the Public Health Service Act (21 U.S.C. 
241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘PART S—WELLNESS TRUST 
‘‘SEC. 399KK. DEFINITIONS; ESTABLISHMENT OF WELLNESS 
TRUST. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this part: 
‘‘(1) CERTIFIED PREVENTION HEALTH WORK-
ER.—The term ‘certified prevention health worker’ 
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means a licensed health professional or other health 
worker deemed certified by the Trustees. 
‘‘(2) TRUST.—The term ‘Trust’ means the 
Wellness Trust established under subsection (b). 
‘‘(3) TRUSTEES.—The term ‘Trustees’ means 
the members of the Trust Fund Board appointed 
under section 399LL(b). 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WELLNESS TRUST.— 
There is established within the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention the Wellness Trust. 
‘‘SEC. 399LL. STRUCTURE. 
‘‘(a) TRUST FUND BOARD.—The Trust shall be 
headed by the Trust Fund Board. 
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Trust Fund Board shall be 
composed of 7 members appointed by the President by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
‘‘(c) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The initial 7 Trust-
ees shall be appointed not later than December 31, 2009. 
‘‘(d) STAGGERED TERMS.—Of the members first ap-
pointed under subsection (c)— 
‘‘(1) four shall be appointed for a period of 4 
years; and 
‘‘(2) three shall be appointed for a period of 3 
years. 
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‘‘(e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Trust Fund 
Board— 
‘‘(1) shall not affect the powers of the Trust 
Fund Board; and 
‘‘(2) shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment was made. 
‘‘(f) MEETINGS.—The Trust Fund Board shall meet 
at the call of the Chairperson. 
‘‘(g) QUORUM; REQUIRED VOTES.—A majority of 
Trustees shall constitute a quorum for purposes of voting, 
but a lesser number of members may hold hearings. The 
Chairperson shall require a vote of the Trustees on major 
decisions regarding prevention priorities, resource alloca-
tion, delivery system structure, and other Trust functions. 
‘‘(h) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Trust Fund Board shall select a Chairperson and Vice 
Chairperson from among the Trustees. 
‘‘(i) REMOVAL.—A Trustee may be removed by the 
President only for cause. 
‘‘(j) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Trustees may submit 
recommendations directly to Congress, without oppor-
tunity for comment or change by the Secretary. 
‘‘(k) STAFF.—The Trustees may employ and fix the 
compensation of personnel as necessary. Not more than 
5 percent of the funds appropriated in a fiscal year to 
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the Trust Fund established under section 399NN may be 
used to fund the staff, operations, and other purposes as 
the Trustees determine appropriate of the Trust Fund 
Board, subject to the oversight of the Secretary. 
‘‘SEC. 399MM. REPORTS; PLAN FOR DELIVERING SYSTEMS. 
‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT OF KEY REPORTS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the appointment of the Trustees under 
section 399LL(c), the Trustees shall submit to Congress 
and make publicly available the following reports: 
‘‘(1) REPORT ON BROADENING THE PREVEN-
TION WORKFORCE.—A report that develops and de-
scribes a system for certification and recertification 
of ‘prevention health workers’ to complement the 
health system as in existence at the time of such re-
port. Such system may expand certification efforts 
in existence at the time of such report for the public 
health workforce and community health workers. 
Such report shall also examine the impact of State 
licensing requirements and explore and describe op-
tions for health profession training and continuing 
education, one or more registries of certified preven-
tion health workers, and an employment structure 
that encourages flexible deployment but protects pre-
vention health workers’ benefits. 
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