(3) HIGH PRIORITY TOPICS.—High priority top-
ics are health care workforce areas which require 
special attention. The topics may be determined by 
the Advisory Board or assigned by appropriate com-
mittees of Congress. Initial high priority topics in-
clude— 
(A) integrated workforce planning maxi-
mizing the skill sets of health care professionals 
across disciplines; 
(B) integrated workforce planning for 
short-term and rapid deployment into the 
health care workforce; 
(C) analysis of the nature, scopes of prac-
tice, and demands for health workers in the en-
hanced information technology and manage-
ment work place; 
(D) Medicare and Medicaid graduate med-
ical education policies and recommendations for 
aligning with national workforce goals; 
(E) nursing workforce capacity at all levels 
of nurse training, training capacity, projected 
needs, and integration within the health care 
system; 
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(F) dental workforce capacity, training ca-
pacity, projected needs, and integration within 
the health care system; and 
(G) mental health workforce capacity, 
training capacity and projected needs. 
(4) AGENDA AND ADDITIONAL REVIEWS.—The 
Advisory Board shall consult periodically with the 
chairmen and ranking minority members of the ap-
propriate committees of Congress regarding the Ad-
visory Board’s agenda, progress towards achieving 
this agenda and requests for high priority topics. 
SEC. 103. MEMBERSHIP AND RELATED PROVISIONS. 
(a) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Advi-
sory Board shall be composed of 15 members ap-
pointed by the Comptroller General. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The membership of the 
Advisory Board shall include individuals with 
national recognition for their expertise in the 
provision of health services, health care work-
force analysis, health care finance and econom-
ics, health facility management, health plans 
and integrated delivery systems, higher edu-
cation, health care philanthropy, and other re-
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lated fields, who will provide a mix of profes-
sional perspectives, broad geographic represen-
tation, and a balance between urban and rural 
representatives. 
(B) INCLUSION.—The membership of the 
Advisory Board shall include (but not be limited 
to) health professionals, employers, third-party 
payers, individuals skilled in the conduct and 
interpretation of health services and health eco-
nomics research. Such membership shall also 
include representatives of consumers. 
(C) MAJORITY
NON-PROVIDERS.—Individ-
uals who are directly involved in health profes-
sions education or practice shall not constitute 
a majority of the membership of the Advisory 
Board. 
(D) ETHICAL
DISCLOSURE.—The Comp-
troller General shall establish a system for pub-
lic disclosure by members of the Advisory 
Board of financial and other potential conflicts 
of interest relating to such members. 
(3) TERMS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The terms of members 
of the Advisory Board shall be for 3 years ex-
cept that the Comptroller General shall des-
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ignate staggered terms for the members first 
appointed. 
(B) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 
to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration 
of the term for which the member’s predecessor 
was appointed shall be appointed only for the 
remainder of that term. A member may serve 
after the expiration of that member’s term until 
a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the 
Advisory Board shall be filled in the manner in 
which the original appointment was made. 
(4) COMPENSATION.—While serving on the 
business of the Advisory Board (including travel 
time), a member of the Advisory Board shall be enti-
tled to compensation at the per diem equivalent of 
the rate provided for level IV of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
States Code; and while so serving away from home 
and the member’s regular place of business, a mem-
ber may be allowed travel expenses, as authorized by 
the Chairman of the Advisory Board. Physicians 
serving as personnel of the Advisory Board may be 
provided a physician comparability allowance by the 
Advisory Board in the same manner as Government 
physicians may be provided such an allowance by an 
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agency under section 5948 of title 5, United States 
Code, and for such purpose subsection (i) of such 
section shall apply to the Advisory Board in the 
same manner as it applies to the Tennessee Valley 
Authority. For purposes of pay (other than pay of 
members of the Advisory Board) and employment 
benefits, rights, and privileges, all personnel of the 
Advisory Board shall be treated as if they were em-
ployees of the United States Senate. 
(5) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Advisory 
Board members shall elect by a majority vote the 
Advisory Board chairman and vice chairman for the 
term of their appointment of portion remaining. 
Elections shall occur at the end of any chairman or 
vice chairman’s term or should a Advisory Board 
member leave the Advisory Board for any reason. 
(6) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall 
meet at the call of the Chairman. 
(b) DIRECTOR AND STAFF; EXPERTS AND CONSULT-
ANTS.—Subject to such review as the Comptroller General 
deems necessary to assure the efficient administration of 
the Advisory Board, the Advisory Board may— 
(1) employ and fix the compensation of an Ex-
ecutive Director (subject to the approval of the 
Comptroller General) and such other personnel as 
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may be necessary to carry out its duties (without re-
gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
governing appointments in the competitive service); 
(2) seek such assistance and support as may be 
required in the performance of its duties from ap-
propriate Federal departments and agencies; 
(3) enter into contracts or make other arrange-
ments, as may be necessary for the conduct of the 
work of the Advisory Board (without regard to sec-
tion 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5)); 
(4) make advance, progress, and other pay-
ments which relate to the work of the Advisory 
Board; 
(5) provide transportation and subsistence for 
persons serving without compensation; and 
(6) prescribe such rules and regulations as it 
deems necessary with respect to the internal organi-
zation and operation of the Advisory Board. 
(c) POWERS.— 
(1) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Advisory 
Board may secure directly from any department or 
agency of the United States information necessary 
to enable it to carry out this section. Upon request 
of the Chairman, the head of that department or 
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agency shall furnish that information to the Advi-
sory Board on an agreed upon schedule. 
(2) DATA COLLECTION.—In order to carry out 
its functions, the Advisory Board shall— 
(A) utilize existing information, both pub-
lished and unpublished, where possible, collected 
and assessed either by its own staff or under 
other arrangements made in accordance with 
this section; 
(B) carry out, or award grants or con-
tracts for, original research and experimen-
tation, where existing information is inad-
equate; and 
(C) adopt procedures allowing any inter-
ested party to submit information for the Advi-
sory Board’s use in making reports and rec-
ommendations. 
(3) ACCESS
OF
GAO
TO
INFORMATION.—The 
Comptroller General shall have unrestricted access 
to all deliberations, records, and nonproprietary data 
of the Advisory Board, immediately upon request. 
(4) PERIODIC
AUDIT.—The Advisory Board 
shall be subject to periodic audit by the Comptroller 
General. 
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(d) COOPERATION.—The Advisory Board shall carry 
out its duties in cooperation with the Council on Graduate 
Medical Education established under section 762 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294o), the National 
Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps 
established by section 337 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 254j), 
the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care 
Medicine and Dentistry established pursuant to section 
748 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2931), the Advisory Com-
mittee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages 
established pursuant to section 756 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
294f), and the National Advisory Council on Nurse Edu-
cation and Practice established pursuant to section 845 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 297t). 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) REQUEST FOR APPROPRIATIONS.—The Ad-
visory Board shall submit requests for appropria-
tions in the same manner as the Comptroller Gen-
eral submits requests for appropriations, but 
amounts appropriated for the Advisory Board shall 
be separate from amounts appropriated for the 
Comptroller General. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out the provisions of this section. 
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(f) HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DEFINITION.—In 
this section, the term ‘‘health care workforce’’ includes all 
health care providers with direct patient care and support 
responsibilities, including physicians, nurses, physician as-
sistants, pharmacists, dentists, allied health professionals, 
mental health professionals, and public health profes-
sionals. 
TITLE II—WORKFORCE DATA 
AND ANALYSIS 
SEC. 201. CENTER FOR WORKFORCE DATA AND ANALYSIS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na-
tional Center for Workforce Data and Analysis in the De-
partment of Health and Human Services. 
(b) DUTIES.—Such Center shall comprehensively and 
regularly gather data, provide projections, and conduct re-
search on the supply, demand, distribution, diversity, and 
development of the health care workforce, including infor-
mation on specific disciplines, specialties, and subspecial-
ties. 
(c) AUTHORITY.—Such Center is authorized to ac-
cept applications for and administer grants for the pur-
pose of establishing State and Regional Health Workforce 
Councils under section 202. 
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SEC. 202. STATE AND REGIONAL HEALTH WORKFORCE 
COUNCILS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, through the National Center for Work-
force Data and Analysis, shall establish a competitive 
State Health Workforce Shortage grants program (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Grant Program’’) under which, 
for the purposes described, the Secretary may make for-
mula grants or an allotment of funds to States. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the Grant Program 
is to harmonize health workforce needs and medical edu-
cation through incorporating local and regional perspec-
tives through the organization of State and regional health 
workforce councils to— 
(1) ensure access to health services for all indi-
viduals, particularly those with low incomes or lim-
ited access to health services, through an adequate 
health care workforce; 
(2) improve the supply, distribution, diversity, 
and development of the health care workforce, tak-
ing into consideration the supply, distribution, and 
diversity of health care workforce profession special-
ties and subspecialties in a manner consistent 
with— 
(A) 
determining 
high-need 
geographic 
areas; 
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(B) determining high-priority specialties; 
and 
(C) determining the optimal mix and num-
bers of primary care physicians per population 
and as a percentage of the total health care 
workforce; 
(3) create State-specific health care workforce 
goals and objectives that are consistent with and 
aligned to health status goals and national health 
care workforce objectives developed under the Na-
tional Health Workforce Advisory Board under title 
I; and 
(4) during the first 12-month period funded 
through grants provided under this section, establish 
or designate a State health care workforce planning 
entity to establish statewide processes for State 
health care workforce planning, State health work-
force data collection, policy recommendations, and 
State resource allocations. 
(c) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—For the purpose of 
this subsection, a grant is in accordance if the following 
is met: 
(1) USE
OF
FUNDS.—For the purposes de-
scribed in subsection (b), State and Regional Health 
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Workforce Councils may use grant funds under this 
section to— 
(A) collect and analyze State and regional 
health workforce supply, distribution, diversity, 
demand and training capacity data, following 
any data collection and reporting standards set 
by the National Health Workforce Advisory 
Board; 
(B) determine critical State/regional level 
health workforce needs, including identifying— 
(i) high-priority specialties and dis-
ciplines, which may be region specific; and 
(ii) high-need geographic areas; 
(C) establish State/regional health work-
force goals and recommendations to coordinate 
with national level goals set by the National 
Health Workforce Advisory Board; 
(D) devise short- and long-term plans and 
initiatives for meeting State/regional health 
workforce goals; 
(E) devise State/regional level plans that 
set specific targets for increasing primary care 
capacity, including training and retaining more 
primary care physicians, nurses, physicians as-
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(ii) projected needs related to the sup-
ply, distribution, diversity and development 
of the State/regional health workforce; and 
(iii) short- and long-term State/region 
specific health workforce goals and objec-
tives consistent with health status goals 
and national health workforce objectives 
developed under section (103) of previous 
title. 
(3) ANNUAL
REPORTS.—The application in-
cludes a plan for annual reports submitted to HRSA 
and to the National Health Workforce Advisory 
Board to include an annually updated plan to meet 
the goals and objectives and address the needs iden-
tified under the State/Region wide health workforce 
assessment described in paragraph (1), and such 
plan includes strategies related to— 
(A) collaboration between— 
(i) State departments of labor, health, 
education, higher education, veterans af-
fairs, environment, and professional licen-
sure; and 
(ii) State health workforce investment 
boards; 
(B) State data collection; 
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(C) State Medicare and Medicaid policies; 
and 
(D) State health professions licensure and 
regulation. 
(4) DESCRIPTION OF FUNDING USE.—The ap-
plication includes a description of how funds received 
through the grant will be used— 
(A) in accordance with subparagraphs (1) 
and (2) of subsection (b), to ensure access to 
health services for all individuals and to im-
prove the supply, distribution, diversity, and de-
velopment of the health workforce, such as 
through programs related to— 
(i) health workforce training and edu-
cation capacity; 
(ii) the health care safety net work-
force, including health centers under sec-
tion 330; 
(iii) provider cultural competency; 
(iv) health workforce diversity; 
(v) health workforce pipeline develop-
ment; 
(vi) health workforce retention; 
(vii) health workforce faculty recruit-
ment; 
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(viii) health workforce faculty reten-
tion; 
(ix) health workforce career ladders; 
(x) public awareness; and 
(xi) health workforce scholarship and 
loan repayment programs; 
(B) to create State-specific health work-
force goals and objectives in accordance with 
subsection (b)(3) and to develop annual plans 
in accordance with subsection (b)(4) to meet 
such goals and objectives; and 
(C) during the first 12-month period fund-
ed through the grant, to establish or designate 
in accordance with subsection (a)(2)(D) a State 
health workforce planning entity to establish 
statewide processes for State health workforce 
planning, State health workforce data collec-
tion, policy recommendations, and State re-
source allocations. 
(5) DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATION.—The ap-
plication— 
(A) is developed by or in consultation with 
the State agency that will be responsible for ad-
ministering the program; and 
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(B) is made publicly available during its 
development or after its submission to the Sec-
retary in order to facilitate public comment. 
(d) ADDITIONAL DUTIES
AND AUTHORITIES.—A 
State and Regional Health Workforce Council funded 
through a grant under this section shall— 
(1) submit analyses and recommendations to 
the Advisory Board under title I, at least on an an-
nual basis; 
(2) have the authority to allocate any future in-
creases in State graduate medical education caps 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, con-
sistent with section 203 and the amendments made 
by title III; and 
(3) shall be eligible to apply for the authority 
to administer direct graduate medical education 
funds under title XVIII of such Act at the State 
level in order to achieve flexibility in direct graduate 
medical education placements to meet State health 
needs. 
(e) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF ALLOTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deter-
mine the amount of the allotment to each State 
under this section for a fiscal year based on a for-
mula. 
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(2) DEVELOPMENT OF FORMULA.—The formula 
referred to in paragraph (1) shall be determined by 
the Secretary by regulation, taking into consider-
ation the following criteria: 
(A) Existing shortages and deficiencies in 
health workforce distribution. 
(B) Rural, urban, and frontier areas. 
(C) Community health centers. 
(D) The number of medical, nursing, and 
allied health professions schools in each State. 
(f) REPORTS.—A State and Regional Health Work-
force Council funded through a grant under this section 
shall submit data to the National Health Workforce Advi-
sory Board under title I and the National Workforce Data 
Center established under section 201 on an annual basis 
for purposes of consideration and incorporation into the 
recommendations made by the National Health Workforce 
Advisory Board. 
Æ 
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