Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act of 2024

Section 331(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254d(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking or mental health and inserting mental health, or medical laboratory services; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

(F) The term medical laboratory personnel —

(i) means individuals—

(I) seeking or receiving training in an accredited medical laboratory science program; or

(II) employed in a position in which the individual examines materials derived from the human body for the purpose of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a disease or impairment of human beings; and

(ii) includes phlebotomists, medical laboratory assistants, histotechnologists, laboratory scientists, laboratory technicians, and genetic counselors.

Section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e) is amended by adding at the end the following:

The Secretary shall carry out a program of—

(A) identifying medical laboratory health professional target areas; and

(B) assigning members of the Corps who are medical laboratory personnel to such areas.

The provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (6) of subsection (k) shall apply to the identification of medical laboratory health professional target areas and the assignment of medical laboratory personnel under this subsection except that—

(A) references to maternity care health professional target areas shall be treated as references to medical laboratory health professional target areas; and

(B) references to maternity care health professionals and maternity care shall be treated as references to medical laboratory personnel and medical laboratory services, respectively.

Section 338B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l–1) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting medical laboratory personnel, after dentists,; and

(2) in subsection (b)—

(A) by striking an individual must— and all that follows through or physician assistant; and inserting the following:

(A) an individual must—

(i) have a degree in medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or another health profession, or an appropriate degree from a graduate program of behavioral and mental health;

(ii) be certified as a nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant; or

(iii) have a degree in medical laboratory science;

(B) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting medical laboratory science, after mental health,; and

(C) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii), by inserting medical laboratory science, after dentistry,.

The Secretary may make grants to, or enter into contracts with, eligible entities that the Secretary has determined are capable of carrying out such grant or contract—

(1) to plan, develop, operate, or participate in an accredited medical laboratory professional education program that awards an associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree or certificate; and

(2) to recruit, train, and develop faculty for such program.

In awarding grants and contracts under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that—

(1) utilize innovative approaches to clinical teaching;

(2) are committed to training individuals from rural, underrepresented, or disadvantaged backgrounds;

(3) teach collaboration among health professionals; or

(4) provide training in cultural competency and health literacy.

A grant or contract awarded under this subsection shall be for a period of 3 years.

In this section, the term eligible entity means an accredited nonprofit hospital, school of allied health, or nonprofit entity that sponsors accredited internship programs required for professional certification.

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—

(1) $25,000,000 for the first full fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(2) such sums as may be necessary for subsequent fiscal years.