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The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee today advanced  to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program, and federal workforce development programs for nurses and health professionals.
 
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act, as amended, would authorize $264.6 million in annual funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program, down from $374.7 million currently. The subcommittee did not adopt changes advocated by AHA to increase the HPP funding level to at least $515 million; explicitly permit academic medical centers and metropolitan and regional hospital associations to compete for HPP partnership awards; and formally keep the HPP and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Programs separate under their respective agencies. However, the amended bill does include AHA-supported changes to the Public Health Emergency Fund’s financing and uses.
 
The AHA-supported Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5385) would reauthorize the CHGME program through 2023 at $325 million a year, a $10 million increase over last year’s funding allocation and the amount specified in the fiscal year 2019 House appropriations bill.
 
The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (H.R. 959),  by the AHA’s American Organization of Nurse Executives subsidiary, would reauthorize nursing workforce development programs that support recruitment, retention and advanced education through FY 2022.
 
The Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency Readiness Act (H.R. 3728) would reauthorize health professions workforce programs that support loan repayment and provider training experiences in primary care, dentistry, rural and underserved areas.
 
The committee also approved the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (H.R. 1676), which directs the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to enhance health professionals training in palliative care.