Preventive Care Awareness Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.7617 | Sponsor: Rep. Blunt Rochester, Lisa (D-DE)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Preventive Care Awareness Act of 2022
This bill requires activities to promote the use of preventive health care services with a particular focus on decreasing disparities in accessing preventive services for individuals in rural and underserved communities who delayed or forewent recommended preventive services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must carry out a campaign to increase public awareness about and use of recommended preventive services. HHS must also convene a task force to develop recommendations regarding preventive services during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. The recommendations must address, among other considerations, reducing disparities in health outcomes and identifying barriers to implementing the recommendations.
Additionally, the bill allows states, Indian tribes, and territories to use a portion of their Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant funding for FY2023 and FY2024 on activities to increase patient uptake of recommended preventive services.

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN REGARDING PREVENTATIVE HEALTH.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred 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 Medicare & 
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 communities who 
have delayed or forgone receiving recommended clinical preventive 
health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEC. 3. COVID-19 PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Use of Allotments.--Section 1904 of the Public 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;
                    (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 underserved 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 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 authorized to be 
appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 and 2024.''.

SEC. 4. TASK FORCE ON PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE DURING PUBLIC HEALTH 
              EMERGENCIES.

    (a) Task Force on Preventive Health Care in Response to the COVID-
19 Public Health Emergency.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall convene a task 
        force to develop Federal recommendations 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 recommendations to promote preventive health care 
        visits and 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 disorders 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 increase 
                        the ability to accommodate patient care 
                        preferences while maintaining safety and 
                        quality; and
                            (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 demonstrated effectiveness 
                in promoting preventive health care during the COVID-19 
                pandemic, for purposes of future public health 
                emergencies; 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 discontinued 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 following:
                    (A) One representative of each of the following:
                            (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 Mental 
                        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 
                        Preparedness and Response.
                    (B) Such other members as the Secretary determines 
                appropriate.
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