Reproductive Health Care Training Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4147 To provide for the establishment of an education program to expand abortion care training and access. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Mr. BERA (for himself, Ms. SCHRIER, Mrs. FLETCHER, and Mr. POCAN) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce 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 retary’’), acting through the Administrator of the Health 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4147 IH Resources and Services Administration, shall establish a 1 program to award grants or contracts to eligible entities 2 to carry out the activities described in subsection (d) for 3 the purposes of— 4 (1) expanding and supporting education for stu- 5 dents, residents, or advanced practice clinicians in a 6 covered State that permits comprehensive training in 7 abortion care; and 8 (2) preparing and encouraging each such stu- 9 dent, resident, and advanced practice clinician train- 10 ing in a covered State to serve as an abortion pro- 11 vider after completing such training. 12 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive an award 13 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli- 14 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 15 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 16 including— 17 (1) a certification that such eligible entity will 18 use amounts provided to the entity to carry out the 19 activities described in subsection (e); and 20 (2) a description of how such eligible entity will 21 carry out such activities. 22 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 23 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ includes accredited health pro- 24 fessions schools, academic health centers or other appro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4147 IH priate public or private nonprofit health care safety net 1 providers, including sexual and reproductive health pro- 2 viders, as determined by the Secretary. 3 (d) PRIORITY.—In making awards under this section, 4 the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— 5 (1) are located in a covered State in which clin- 6 ical training for heath care students, residents, and 7 advanced practice clinicians in abortion care is per- 8 mitted and/or comprehensively taught; 9 (2) support clinical training in abortion care for 10 health care students, residents, and advanced prac- 11 tice clinicians from States where such training is 12 otherwise limited; or 13 (3) are minority serving institutions or institu- 14 tions that provide training to increase underrep- 15 resented minority health professions. 16 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use 17 funds made available under an award under this section 18 to carry out the following activities: 19 (1) Support or expand clinical training for 20 health care students, residents, and advanced prac- 21 tice clinicians in abortion care. 22 (2) Develop and operate programs to train 23 health care students, residents, and advanced prac- 24 tice clinicians in abortion care by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4147 IH (A) defining a set of clinical training ac- 1 tivities related to abortion care, including those 2 that include care for racial and ethnic minority 3 groups, people with disabilities, Tribal, and 4 medically underserved communities; 5 (B) identifying and addressing challenges 6 to accessing abortion care, including the needs 7 of racial and ethnic minority groups, people 8 with disabilities, Tribal, and medically under- 9 served communities; 10 (C) supporting the use of telehealth tech- 11 nologies and practices related to abortion care; 12 (D) integrating abortion training into 13 health care education; and 14 (E) promoting interprofessional training 15 that includes non-obstetrician–gynecologist 16 abortion providers. 17 (3) Develop or expand strategic partnerships 18 with community health organizations or other eligi- 19 ble entities to enhance access to abortion care and 20 improve health outcomes. 21 (4) Develop, implement, and evaluate methods 22 to improve recruitment and retention of health care 23 students and advanced practice clinicians from medi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4147 IH cally underserved communities to increase access to 1 abortion care. 2 (5) Train and support instructors to serve 3 medically underserved communities. 4 (6) Prepare health care students, residents, or 5 advanced practice clinicians for transition into clin- 6 ical practice that includes abortion care, with a focus 7 on medically underserved communities. 8 (7) Provide scholarships or stipends to health 9 care students, residents, or advanced practice clini- 10 cians that are pursing training in abortion care, with 11 a focus on medically underserved communities. 12 (f) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Federal funds 13 appropriated to carry out this section shall supplement not 14 supplant funds otherwise made available to carry out title 15 VII and title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 16 U.S.C. 292 et seq. and 296 et seq.). 17 (g) REPORTING.— 18 (1) REPORTS FROM ENTITIES.—Each entity 19 that receives an award under this section shall sub- 20 mit an annual report to the Secretary on the finan- 21 cial and programmatic performance under such 22 award, which may include factors such as the num- 23 ber of trainees, the number of professions and dis- 24 ciplines, the number of partnerships with health care 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 4147 IH delivery sites, the number of faculty and practicing 1 health care professionals who participated in con- 2 tinuing education programs, and other factors, as 3 the Secretary may require, in a manner that does 4 not allow for identification of patients, individual 5 providers, or other participants. 6 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—At the end of 7 each year in which the Secretary makes awards 8 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 9 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 10 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 11 and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re- 12 port that provides a summary of the financial and 13 programmatic performance of such awards, which 14 may include factors such as the number trainees, the 15 number of professions and disciplines, the number of 16 partnerships with health care delivery sites, the 17 number of faculty and practicing health care profes- 18 sionals who participated in continuing education pro- 19 grams, and other factors that assess the impact of 20 the program on the expansion of access to abortion 21 services, in a manner that does not disclose any 22 identifiable information of patients, individual pro- 23 viders, or other participants. 24 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 4147 IH (1) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 1 State’’ means a State, Puerto Rico, and a territory 2 or possession of the United States in which com- 3 prehensive training for abortion care is permissible. 4 (2) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.— 5 The term ‘‘medically underserved community’’ has 6 the meaning given such term in section 799B of the 7 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p). 8 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 10 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Jul 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4147.IH H4147 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB