National Health Care Workforce Commission

It is the purpose of this section to establish a National Health Care Workforce Commission that— There is hereby established the National Health Care Workforce Commission (in this section referred to as the “Commission”). The Commission shall be composed of 15 members to be appointed by the Comptroller General, without regard to section 1004 of title 5. The membership of the Commission shall include individuals— The membership of the Commission shall include no less than one representative of— The remaining membership may include additional representatives from clause (i) and other individuals as determined appropriate by the Comptroller General of the United States. Individuals who are directly involved in health professions education or practice shall not constitute a majority of the membership of the Commission. The Comptroller General shall establish a system for public disclosure by members of the Commission of financial and other potential conflicts of interest relating to such members. Members of the Commission shall be treated as employees of Congress for purposes of applying subchapter I of chapter 131 of title 5. Members of the Commission shall not be treated as special government employees under title 18. The terms of members of the Commission shall be for 3 years except that the Comptroller General shall designate staggered terms for the members first appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. The Comptroller General shall make initial appointments of members to the Commission not later than September 30, 2010. While serving on the business of the Commission (including travel time), a member of the Commission shall be entitled to compensation at the per diem equivalent of the rate provided for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of tile 11 So in original. Probably should be “title”. 5, and while so serving away from home and the member’s regular place of business, a member may be allowed travel expenses, as authorized by the Chairman of the Commission. Physicians serving as personnel of the Commission may be provided a physician comparability allowance by the Commission in the same manner as Government physicians may be provided such an allowance by an agency under section 5948 of title 5, and for such purpose subsection (i) of such section shall apply to the Commission in the same manner as it applies to the Tennessee Valley Authority. For purposes of pay (other than pay of members of the Commission) and employment benefits, rights, and privileges, all personnel of the Commission shall be treated as if they were employees of the United States Senate. Personnel of the Commission shall not be treated as employees of the Government Accountability Office for any purpose. The Comptroller General shall designate a member of the Commission, at the time of appointment of the member, as Chairman and a member as Vice Chairman for that term of appointment, except that in the case of vacancy of the chairmanship or vice chairmanship, the Comptroller General may designate another member for the remainder of that member’s term. The Commission shall meet at the call of the chairman, but no less frequently than on a quarterly basis. The Commission shall— In order to develop a fiscally sustainable integrated workforce that supports a high-quality, readily accessible health care delivery system that meets the needs of patients and populations, the Commission, in consultation with relevant Federal, State, and local agencies, shall— The topics described in this paragraph include— The initial high priority topics described in this paragraph include each of the following: The education and training capacity, projected demands, and integration with the health care delivery system of each of the following: The Commission may require that additional topics be included under subparagraph (A). The appropriate committees of Congress may recommend to the Commission the inclusion of other topics for health care workforce development areas that require special attention. The Commission shall— The Commission shall study effective mechanisms for financing education and training for careers in health care, including public health and allied health. The Commission shall submit recommendations to Congress, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services about improving safety, health, and worker protections in the workplace for the health care workforce. The Commission shall assess and receive reports from the National Center for Health Care Workforce Analysis established under section 761(b) of the Public Service Health Act [42 U.S.C. 294n(b)] (as amended by section 5103).44 See References in Text note below. The Commission shall consult with Federal agencies (including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, Defense, and Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency), Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, and, to the extent practicable, with State and local agencies, Indian tribes, voluntary health care organizations, professional societies, and other relevant public-private health care partnerships. The Commission, consistent with established privacy rules, may secure directly from any department or agency of the Executive Branch information necessary to enable the Commission to carry out this section. An employee of the Federal Government may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement. The detail of such an employee shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status. Subject to such review as the Comptroller General of the United States determines to be necessary to ensure the efficient administration of the Commission, the Commission may— In order to carry out its functions under this section, the Commission shall— The Comptroller General of the United States shall have unrestricted access to all deliberations, records, and data of the Commission, immediately upon request. The Commission shall be subject to periodic audit by an independent public accountant under contract to the Commission. The Commission shall submit requests for appropriations in the same manner as the Comptroller General of the United States submits requests for appropriations. Amounts so appropriated for the Commission shall be separate from amounts appropriated for the Comptroller General. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. The Commission may not accept gifts, bequeaths, or donations of property, but may accept and use donations of services for purposes of carrying out this section. In this section: The term “health care workforce” includes all health care providers with direct patient care and support responsibilities, such as physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, primary care providers, preventive medicine physicians, optometrists, ophthalmologists, physician assistants, pharmacists, dentists, dental hygienists, and other oral healthcare professionals, allied health professionals, doctors of chiropractic, community health workers, health care paraprofessionals, direct care workers, psychologists and other behavioral and mental health professionals (including substance abuse prevention and treatment providers), social workers, physical and occupational therapists, certified nurse midwives, podiatrists, the EMS workforce (including professional and volunteer ambulance personnel and firefighters who perform emergency medical services), licensed complementary and alternative medicine providers, integrative health practitioners, public health professionals, and any other health professional that the Comptroller General of the United States determines appropriate. The term “health professionals” includes—