I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9812 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
to States to establish, increase the availability of, and improve access 
to, qualified health care programs to increase and strengthen the health 
care workforce in such States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 
Mr. COMER (for himself and Mr. MCGARVEY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
award grants to States to establish, increase the avail-
ability of, and improve access to, qualified health care 
programs to increase and strengthen the health care 
workforce in such States. 
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 ‘‘Health Care Workforce 
Investment Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress to address the Nation’s 
shortage of a broad spectrum of health care professionals, 
including direct support professionals, nurses, mental 
health professionals, nurse aides, and emergency medical 
services professionals by incentivizing collaboration be-
tween health care programs, health care industry partners, 
and States to grow and strengthen the education and 
training pipeline of health care professionals within the 
Nation to better serve patients and families by: 
(1) Improving the ability of a broad variety of 
health care programs to meet the workforce de-
mands and capacity of the States, including the 
workforce demands of historically underserved areas. 
(2) Raising awareness of an interest in a broad 
variety of health care occupations and reducing the 
barriers of access to the health care programs nec-
essary to pursue these occupations, including finan-
cial barriers. 
(3) Improving pathways between high school ca-
reer and technical programs and other health care 
programs. 
(4) Developing strategies for health care organi-
zations and educational and training programs to 
support career growth and development for their em-
ployees and for students. 
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SEC. 3. HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT PLANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services (in this section referred to as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) shall award grants to States to establish and 
implement a State Health Care Workforce Improvement 
Plan (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Workforce Plan’’) 
to increase and strengthen the health care workforce in 
such States. 
(b) WORKFORCE PLANS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary, at 
such time and in such manner as specified by the 
Secretary, a Workforce Plan containing the following 
information: 
(A) A description of the State Health Care 
Workforce Council (in accordance with sub-
section (c)(1)(A)) designated by such State to 
administer such Workforce Plan. 
(B) The means by which such Council will 
incentivize and establish public-private partner-
ships with program partners (as defined in sub-
section (e)(3)) to provide education and train-
ing that will— 
(i) raise awareness of, and interest in, 
careers in health care; 
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(ii) improve pathways between high 
school career, technical programs, and 
other qualified health care programs (as 
defined in subsection (c)(2)(A)(i)); 
(iii) increase the availability of, and 
improve access to, such qualified health 
care programs; 
(iv) reduce barriers to accessing such 
qualified health care programs, including 
financial barriers to enrolling in such pro-
grams; and 
(v) assist employers in the health care 
industry in supporting career growth and 
development for employees. 
(C) The method by which such qualified 
health care programs will be evaluated, includ-
ing— 
(i) the benchmarks and improvement 
activities used to identify and reduce dis-
parities in access to, and the utilization of, 
such programs; and 
(ii) adequate safeguards to ensure 
that such programs are invested in the 
continuing excellence of such programs, in-
cluding the education, recruitment, and 
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training of health care program faculty 
and staff, and the maintenance and acqui-
sition of medical equipment utilized by 
such program. 
(D) The State’s plan (if any) to implement 
an income tax credit (or other tax credit) for 
program partners. 
(2) PUBLICATION
OF
APPROVED
WORKFORCE 
PLANS.—The Secretary shall make publicly available 
on an internet website of the Department of Health 
and Human Services each approved Workforce Plan. 
(c) ADMINISTRATION OF WORKFORCE PLANS.— 
(1) ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING.— 
(A) STATE
HEALTH
CARE
WORKFORCE 
COUNCIL.—Each State shall establish (or ap-
point as existing body to serve as) a State 
Health Care Workforce Council (in this section 
referred to as the ‘‘Council’’) to administer the 
Workforce Plan. Such Council shall— 
(i) establish and maintain the State 
Health Care Workforce Investment Fund 
(as described in subparagraph (B)); 
(ii) provide for education and training 
opportunities through qualified health care 
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programs (as described in paragraph 
(2)(A)); 
(iii) evaluate such programs and pro-
vide incentives to successful programs; and 
(iv) provide scholarships to eligible in-
dividuals to reduce financial barriers to ac-
cessing such programs (in accordance with 
the requirements under paragraph (2)(B)). 
(B) HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE INVEST-
MENT FUND.—Each Council shall establish a 
State Health Care Workforce Investment Fund 
(in this section referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’) for 
the purpose of funding the activities described 
in the Workforce Plan, including— 
(i) providing funding for new or estab-
lished qualified health care programs; 
(ii) establishing and supporting schol-
arships for eligible individuals seeking to 
enroll in such qualified health care pro-
grams to reduce financial barriers for such 
individuals; 
(iii) providing incentives to reward 
successful qualified health care programs 
(in accordance with paragraph (2)(A)(iii)); 
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(iv) supporting related administrative 
research, consulting, planning, and anal-
ysis of the health care workforce needs 
within such State; and 
(v) encouraging investment in the 
Fund from private, financial, and philan-
thropic organizations to implement the 
work described in the Workforce Plan. 
(2) WORKFORCE PLAN COMPONENTS.— 
(A) 
QUALIFIED
HEALTH
CARE
PRO-
GRAM.— 
(i) QUALIFIED
HEALTH
CARE
PRO-
GRAM DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘qualified health care program’’ means an 
educational or training program, including 
a high school health care vocational pro-
gram, that is required to obtain or main-
tain employment or a professional creden-
tial or license for a career in a hospital or 
other health care setting. 
(ii) CRITERIA.—In order to receive 
funding from a Council, a qualified health 
care program must— 
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(I) target the specific needs of 
historically underserved areas (as de-
fined in subsection (e)(2)); 
(II) demonstrate how such pro-
gram will benefit the workforce de-
mands and capacity in underserved 
areas; and 
(III) assist eligible individuals in 
meeting some or all of the require-
ments for a certificate, training, or li-
cense in health care issued by a State. 
(iii) INCENTIVES
FOR
SUCCESSFUL 
PROGRAMS.—A Council may award addi-
tional financial incentives to eligible indi-
viduals for programs that demonstrate an 
increase or other improvement in— 
(I) the number of such individ-
uals completing such program; 
(II) the passage rate, particularly 
the first-time passage rate, on any 
State, health care, credential, exam-
ination by graduates of such program; 
(III) the ability of such qualified 
health care programs to meet the 
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licensed, or certified health care 
provider 
(in 
accordance 
with 
State law) in the State in which 
such program was conducted, for 
a period of not less than 1 year 
for each academic year for which 
a scholarship was provided; and 
(cc) sign a promissory note 
agreeing to repay the amount of 
the scholarship awarded upon 
failure to complete the require-
ment under item (bb). 
(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) COUNCIL REPORT.—Not later than Decem-
ber 31, 2024, and annually thereafter, each Council 
shall submit to the Secretary a report on the activi-
ties undertaken in accordance with the Workforce 
Plan, including— 
(A) a detailed accounting of all monies 
raised and expended by the Fund, including the 
sources and recipients of such monies; 
(B) the amount of funds spent to conduct 
each activity under such Workforce Plan; 
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(C) data and descriptive information re-
lated to the scholarships awarded pursuant to 
subsection (c)(2)(B), including— 
(i) the criteria used to award such 
scholarships; 
(ii) the number of scholarships award-
ed and the amount of each such scholar-
ship; and 
(iii) the State and county of residence 
(or equivalent) of each scholarship recipi-
ent; 
(D) data and descriptive information with 
respect to each qualified health care program 
receiving funds under this section, including— 
(i) which such programs have received 
incentives 
pursuant 
to 
subsection 
(c)(2)(A)(iii); 
(ii) the overall graduation, workforce 
participation, and retention rates for each 
such program; and 
(iii) the graduation, workforce partici-
pation, and retention rates for eligible indi-
viduals enrolled in each such program, 
disaggregated by those eligible individuals 
who received a scholarship pursuant to 
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subsection (c)(2)(B) and those who did 
not; 
(E) the number of eligible individuals prac-
ticing or employed in the health care field in a 
respective State, including the training, licen-
sure, or credential of such individual; and 
(F) any other data demonstrating the need 
for professionals with such training, licensures, 
or credentials in such State. 
(2) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later than 
June 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report, including— 
(A) the information submitted by each 
Council under paragraph (1); and 
(B) any other information as determined 
by the Secretary, including information ensur-
ing compliance with this section and account-
ability with respect to any Federal funds dis-
bursed under a Workforce Plan. 
(e) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 
individual’’ means an individual enrolling in a quali-
fied health care program to pursue or advance a ca-
reer in health care. 
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(2) HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COUNTY OR 
REGION.—The term ‘‘historically underserved county 
or region’’ means a county or a region of a State in 
which, for the 5 years immediately preceding such 
State’s application under subsection (b)— 
(A) objective data with the respect to the 
health care workforce in such State dem-
onstrates the needs and demands of a State’s 
health care workforce that exceed the average 
for such State during such years; and 
(B) unemployment among health care pro-
viders as calculated by the Department of 
Labor of a State demonstrating a countywide or 
regional rate of unemployment which exceeds 
statewide unemployment in such State. 
(3) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘program 
partner’’ means an individual or an entity that gifts, 
grants, or donates monies to a State’s Fund, and 
that is— 
(A) a health care provider (as defined in 
accordance with State law); 
(B) a licensed health care facility operating 
in such State; or 
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(C) a business, corporation, or health care 
association doing business in, and incorporated 
under, the laws of such State. 
(f) FUNDING.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Amounts in the Medicare 
Improvement Fund established under section 1898 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395iii(a)) 
shall be available, as provided in advance in appro-
priation Acts, to carry out this section. 
(2) STATE LIMITATION.—A State with an ap-
proved Workforce Plan under this section shall be el-
igible to receive an amount not to exceed 50 percent 
of the amount of the State appropriated match to 
the State Fund established under this section. 
(3) OVERALL LIMITATION.—In no case shall the 
aggregate amount made available under paragraph 
(1) exceed 25 percent of the amount of the combined 
annual appropriations of the Nurse Corps Scholar-
ship Program and the Nurse Corps Loan Repay-
ment Program authorized pursuant to section 846 of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n). 
Æ 
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