Title: Geriatrics Workforce and Caregiver Enhancement Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Geriatrics Workforce and Caregiver Enhancement Act
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and modify Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant programs for geriatrics education and training, including the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program and the Geriatric Academic Career Awards Program.
Among other modifications, the bill directs HHS to award grants to health professional schools or programs for the establishment or operation of geriatric workforce enhancement programs that meet certain requirements. The programs must support the development of a health care workforce that maximizes patient and family engagement and improves health outcomes for older adults by integrating geriatrics with primary care and other appropriate specialties. Special emphasis must be placed on providing the primary care workforce with the knowledge and skills to care for older adults and collaborating with community partners to address gaps in health care for older adults.
The bill also reauthorizes and modifies the Geriatric Academic Career Awards program to provide awards to promote the career development of individuals such as academic geriatricians or other academic geriatrics health professionals.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3713 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3713

To amend the Public Health Service Act to support geriatrics education 
  and training to address the elder care workforce shortage, promote 
     interdisciplinary team-based care, educate and engage family 
caregivers, and improve the quality of care delivered to older adults, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 8, 2017

 Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Ms. Matsui, and Mr. McKinley) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to support geriatrics education 
  and training to address the elder care workforce shortage, promote 
     interdisciplinary team-based care, educate and engage family 
caregivers, and improve the quality of care delivered to older adults, 
                        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 ``Geriatrics Workforce and Caregiver 
Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATING TO GERIATRICS.

    Section 753 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294c) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 753. EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATING TO GERIATRICS.

    ``(a) Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants under 
        this subsection to entities described in paragraph (1), (3), or 
        (4) of section 799B, section 801(2), or section 865(d), or 
        other health professions schools or programs approved by the 
        Secretary, for the establishment or operation of geriatric 
        workforce enhancement programs that meet the requirements of 
        paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Requirements.--A geriatrics workforce enhancement 
        program meets the requirements of this paragraph if such 
        program supports the development of a health care workforce 
        that maximizes patient and family engagement and improves 
        health outcomes for older adults by integrating geriatrics with 
        primary care and other appropriate specialties. Special 
        emphasis should be placed on providing the primary care 
        workforce with the knowledge and skills to care for older 
        adults and collaborating with community partners to address 
        gaps in health care for older adults through individual, 
        system, community, and population level changes. Areas of 
        programmatic focus may include the following:
                    ``(A) Transforming clinical training environments 
                to integrated geriatrics and primary care delivery 
                systems to ensure trainees are well prepared to 
                practice in and lead in such systems.
                    ``(B) Developing providers who can assess and 
                address the needs and preferences of older adults and 
                their families and caregivers at the individual, 
                community, and population levels.
                    ``(C) Creating and delivering community-based 
                programs that will provide older adults and their 
                families and caregivers with the knowledge and skills 
                to improve health outcomes and the quality of care for 
                such adults.
                    ``(D) Providing Alzheimer's disease and related 
                dementias (ADRD) education to the families and 
                caregivers of older adults, direct care workers, health 
                professions students, faculty, and providers.
            ``(3) Duration.--The Secretary shall award grants under 
        paragraph (1) for a period not to exceed five years.
            ``(4) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        paragraph (1), an entity described in such paragraph shall 
        submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such 
        manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
        require.
            ``(5) Priority.--In awarding grants under paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall ensure an equitable geographic 
                distribution of grant recipients;
                    ``(B) shall give priority to--
                            ``(i) programs with the goal of improving 
                        and providing comprehensive coordinated care of 
                        older adults, including medical, dental, and 
                        psychosocial needs;
                            ``(ii) programs that support the training 
                        and retraining of faculty, preceptors, primary 
                        care providers, and providers in other 
                        specialties to increase their knowledge of 
                        geriatrics and gerontology;
                            ``(iii) programs that provide clinical 
                        experiences across care settings, including 
                        ambulatory care, hospitals, post-acute care, 
                        nursing homes, federally qualified health 
                        centers, and home and community-based services;
                            ``(iv) programs that emphasize education 
                        and engagement of family caregivers on disease 
                        self-management, medication management, and 
                        stress reduction strategies;
                            ``(v) programs that provide training to the 
                        health care workforce on disease self-
                        management, motivational interviewing, 
                        medication management, and stress reduction 
                        strategies;
                            ``(vi) programs that provide training to 
                        the health care workforce on social 
                        determinants of health in order to better 
                        address the geriatric health care needs of 
                        diverse populations; and
                            ``(vii) programs that integrate geriatrics 
                        competencies and interprofessional 
                        collaborative practice into health care 
                        education and training curricula for residents, 
                        fellows, and students; and
                    ``(C) may give priority to--
                            ``(i) programs that substantially benefit 
                        rural or underserved populations of older 
                        adults;
                            ``(ii) programs that integrate behavioral 
                        health competencies into primary care practice, 
                        especially with respect to elder abuse, pain 
                        management, and advance care planning; or
                            ``(iii) programs that offer short-term 
                        intensive courses (referred to in this clause 
                        as a `fellowship') that focus on geriatrics, 
                        gerontology, chronic care management, and long-
                        term care that provide supplemental training 
                        for faculty members in medical schools and 
                        other health professions schools or graduate 
                        programs in psychology, pharmacy, nursing, 
                        social work, dentistry, public health, allied 
                        health, or other health disciplines, as 
                        approved by the Secretary. Such a fellowship 
                        shall be open to current faculty, and 
                        appropriately credentialed volunteer faculty 
                        and practitioners, to upgrade their knowledge 
                        and clinical skills for the care of older 
                        adults, and adults with functional and 
                        cognitive limitations and to enhance their 
                        interdisciplinary teaching skills.
            ``(6) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to any 
        other funding available to carry out this subsection, there is 
        authorized to be appropriated $45,800,000 for each of fiscal 
        years 2018 through 2023 for purposes of carrying out this 
        subsection.
    ``(b) Geriatric Academic Career Awards.--
            ``(1) Establishment of program.--The Secretary shall 
        establish a program to provide Geriatric Academic Career Awards 
        to eligible entities applying on behalf of eligible individuals 
        to promote the career development of such individuals as 
        academic geriatricians or other academic geriatrics health 
        professionals.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--
                    ``(A) Eligible entity.--For purposes of this 
                subsection, the term `eligible entity' means--
                            ``(i) an entity described in paragraph (1), 
                        (3), or (4) of section 295p or section 296(2); 
                        or
                            ``(ii) an accredited health professions 
                        school or graduate program approved by the 
                        Secretary.
                    ``(B) Eligible individual.--For purposes of this 
                subsection, the term `eligible individual' means an 
                individual who--
                            ``(i) is board certified or board eligible 
                        in internal medicine, family practice, 
                        psychiatry, or licensed dentistry, or has 
                        completed any required training in a discipline 
                        and is employed in an accredited health 
                        professions school or graduate program that is 
                        approved by the Secretary; or
                            ``(ii) has completed an approved fellowship 
                        program in geriatrics or gerontology, or has 
                        completed specialty training in geriatrics or 
                        gerontology as required by the discipline and 
                        any additional geriatrics or gerontology 
                        training as required by the Secretary; and
                            ``(iii) has a junior (non-tenured) faculty 
                        appointment at an accredited school of 
                        allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, 
                        nursing, social work, psychology, dentistry, 
                        pharmacy, or other allied health disciplines in 
                        an accredited health professions school or 
                        graduate program that is approved by the 
                        Secretary.
            ``(3) Limitations.--An eligible entity may not receive an 
        award under paragraph (1) on behalf of an eligible individual 
        unless the eligible entity--
                    ``(A) submits to the Secretary an application, at 
                such time, in such manner, and containing such 
                information as the Secretary may require, and the 
                Secretary approves such application;
                    ``(B) provides, in such form and manner as the 
                Secretary may require, assurances that the eligible 
                individual on whose behalf an application was submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) will meet the service 
                requirement described in paragraph (7); and
                    ``(C) provides, in such form and manner as the 
                Secretary may require, assurances that such individual 
                has a full-time faculty appointment in an accredited 
                health professions school or graduate program and 
                documented commitment from such school or program to 
                spend 50 percent of the total time of such individual 
                on teaching and developing skills in interdisciplinary 
                education in geriatrics.
            ``(4) Requirements.--In awarding grants under this section, 
        the Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall give priority to eligible entities that 
                apply on behalf of eligible individuals who are on the 
                faculty of institutions that integrate geriatrics 
                education, training, and best practices into academic 
                program criteria;
                    ``(B) may give priority to eligible entities that 
                operate a geriatrics workforce enhancement program 
                under subsection (a);
                    ``(C) shall ensure that grants are equitably 
                distributed among rural or underserved populations of 
                older adults across the various geographical regions of 
                the United States;
                    ``(D) shall pay particular attention to geriatrics 
                healthcare workforce needs among underserved 
                populations and rural areas; and
                    ``(E) may not require an eligible individual, or an 
                eligible entity applying on behalf of an eligible 
                individual, to be a recipient of a grant or contract 
                under section 753(a) or 750 of title VII of the Public 
                Health Service Act.
            ``(5) Maintenance of effort.--An eligible entity receiving 
        an award under paragraph (1) on behalf of an eligible 
        individual shall provide assurances to the Secretary that funds 
        provided to such individual under this subsection will be used 
        only to supplement, not to supplant, the amount of Federal, 
        State, and local funds otherwise expended by such individual.
            ``(6) Amount and duration.--
                    ``(A) Amount.--The amount of an award under this 
                subsection for eligible individuals who are physicians 
                shall equal $75,000 for fiscal year 1998, adjusted for 
                subsequent fiscal years to reflect the increase in the 
                Consumer Price Index. The Secretary shall determine the 
                amount of an award under this subsection for 
                individuals who are not physicians.
                    ``(B) Duration.--The Secretary shall make awards 
                under paragraph (1) for a period not to exceed five 
                years.
                    ``(C) Payment to institution.--The Secretary shall 
                make payments to institutions which include schools of 
                medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, social work, 
                psychology, dentistry, and pharmacy, or other allied 
                health discipline in an accredited health professions 
                school or graduate program that is approved by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(7) Service requirement.--An eligible individual on whose 
        behalf an application was submitted and approved under 
        paragraph (3)(A) shall provide training in clinical geriatrics 
        or gerontology, including the training of interdisciplinary 
        teams of health care professionals.
            ``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated $5,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 
        through 2023 for purposes of carrying out this subsection.''.
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