Reproductive Health Care Training Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2024 To provide for the establishment of an education program to expand abortion care training and access. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2023 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. KELLY) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide for the establishment of an education program to expand abortion care training and access. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reproductive Health 4 Care Training Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. EDUCATION PROGRAM TO EXPAND ABORTION CARE 6 TRAINING AND ACCESS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 8 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 2024 IS retary’’), acting through the Administrator of the Health 1 Resources and Services Administration, shall establish a 2 program to award grants or contracts to eligible entities 3 to carry out the activities described in subsection (d) for 4 the purposes of— 5 (1) expanding and supporting education for stu- 6 dents, residents, or advanced practice clinicians in a 7 covered State that permits comprehensive training in 8 abortion care; and 9 (2) preparing and encouraging each such stu- 10 dent, resident, and advanced practice clinician train- 11 ing in a covered State to serve as an abortion pro- 12 vider after completing such training. 13 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive an award 14 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli- 15 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 16 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 17 including— 18 (1) a certification that such eligible entity will 19 use amounts provided to the entity to carry out the 20 activities described in subsection (e); and 21 (2) a description of how such eligible entity will 22 carry out such activities. 23 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 24 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ includes accredited health pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 2024 IS fessions schools, academic health centers or other appro- 1 priate public or private nonprofit health care safety net 2 providers, including sexual and reproductive health pro- 3 viders, as determined by the Secretary. 4 (d) PRIORITY.—In making awards under this section, 5 the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— 6 (1) are located in a covered State in which clin- 7 ical training for health care students, residents, and 8 advanced practice clinicians in abortion care is per- 9 mitted and/or comprehensively taught; 10 (2) support clinical training in abortion care for 11 health care students, residents, and advanced prac- 12 tice clinicians from States where such training is 13 otherwise limited; or 14 (3) are minority serving institutions or institu- 15 tions that provide training to increase underrep- 16 resented minority health professions. 17 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use 18 funds made available under an award under this section 19 to carry out the following activities: 20 (1) Support or expand clinical training for 21 health care students, residents, and advanced prac- 22 tice clinicians in abortion care. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 2024 IS (2) Develop and operate programs to train 1 health care students, residents, and advanced prac- 2 tice clinicians in abortion care by— 3 (A) defining a set of clinical training ac- 4 tivities related to abortion care, including those 5 that include care for racial and ethnic minority 6 groups, people with disabilities, Tribal, and 7 medically underserved communities; 8 (B) identifying and addressing challenges 9 to accessing abortion care, including the needs 10 of racial and ethnic minority groups, people 11 with disabilities, Tribal, and medically under- 12 served communities; 13 (C) supporting the use of telehealth tech- 14 nologies and practices related to abortion care; 15 (D) integrating abortion training into 16 health care education; and 17 (E) promoting interprofessional training 18 that includes non-obstetrician–gynecologist 19 abortion providers. 20 (3) Develop or expand strategic partnerships 21 with community health organizations or other eligi- 22 ble entities to enhance access to abortion care and 23 improve health outcomes. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 2024 IS (4) Develop, implement, and evaluate methods 1 to improve recruitment and retention of health care 2 students and advanced practice clinicians from medi- 3 cally underserved communities to increase access to 4 abortion care. 5 (5) Train and support instructors to serve 6 medically underserved communities. 7 (6) Prepare health care students, residents, or 8 advanced practice clinicians for transition into clin- 9 ical practice that includes abortion care, with a focus 10 on medically underserved communities. 11 (7) Provide scholarships or stipends to health 12 care students, residents, or advanced practice clini- 13 cians that are pursing training in abortion care, with 14 a focus on medically underserved communities. 15 (f) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Federal funds 16 appropriated to carry out this section shall supplement not 17 supplant funds otherwise made available to carry out title 18 VII and title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 19 U.S.C. 292 et seq. and 296 et seq.). 20 (g) REPORTING.— 21 (1) REPORTS FROM ENTITIES.—Each entity 22 that receives an award under this section shall sub- 23 mit an annual report to the Secretary on the finan- 24 cial and programmatic performance under such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 2024 IS award, which may include factors such as the num- 1 ber of trainees, the number of professions and dis- 2 ciplines, the number of partnerships with health care 3 delivery sites, the number of faculty and practicing 4 health care professionals who participated in con- 5 tinuing education programs, and other factors, as 6 the Secretary may require, in a manner that does 7 not allow for identification of patients, individual 8 providers, or other participants. 9 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—At the end of 10 each year in which the Secretary makes awards 11 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 12 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 13 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 14 and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re- 15 port that provides a summary of the financial and 16 programmatic performance of such awards, which 17 may include factors such as the number trainees, the 18 number of professions and disciplines, the number of 19 partnerships with health care delivery sites, the 20 number of faculty and practicing health care profes- 21 sionals who participated in continuing education pro- 22 grams, and other factors that assess the impact of 23 the program on the expansion of access to abortion 24 services, in a manner that does not disclose any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 2024 IS identifiable information of patients, individual pro- 1 viders, or other participants. 2 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 4 State’’ means a State, Puerto Rico, and a territory 5 or possession of the United States in which com- 6 prehensive training for abortion care is permissible. 7 (2) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.— 8 The term ‘‘medically underserved community’’ has 9 the meaning given such term in section 799B of the 10 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p). 11 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 13 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2024.IS S2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB