Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) and Congressman David B. McKinley (R-WV-01), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, highlighted an upcoming Health Subcommittee hearing on their legislation, the Bolstering Infectious Outbreaks (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act. The bipartisan bill would strengthen the bio-preparedness and infectious disease workforce that has proven critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on the glaring need for improvements in our nation’s pandemic preparedness and response,” said Congresswoman Trahan, who co-founded the Congressional Pandemic Preparedness Caucus. “Fewer areas are more apparent than the woefully inadequate number of physicians trained specifically to prepare for outbreaks of infectious diseases and treat patients who contract them. Congress has an obligation to ensure we’re never caught flat-footed by a pandemic again, and my bipartisan legislation with Congressman McKinley is a key component of that effort. I look forward to working with him and our colleagues on the Committee to get this legislation passed.” 

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted our nation’s shortage of infectious disease and public health professionals, especially in rural states like West Virginia,” said Congressman McKinley. “The BIO Preparedness Workforce Act will help America learn from our mistakes. There will be future pandemics, and we need to ensure our health care workforce is prepared so we will not be caught off-guard again. This bill will ensure America is developing the next generation of infectious disease specialists, and even rural states like West Virginia will have access.” 

Tomorrow, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Caring for America: Legislation to Support Patients, Caregivers, and Providers.” The list of bills includes Trahan’s and McKinley’s BIO Preparedness Workforce Act, which would solidify the United States’ ability to prepare for and respond to future pandemics by shoring up the pipeline of bio-preparedness and infectious diseases physicians. Specifically, the bipartisan legislation would establish a new loan repayment program for health care professionals who spend at least half of their time engaged in bio-preparedness and response activities or providing infectious disease care. Further, the bill aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority individuals serving as bio-preparedness or infectious diseases physicians. A qualified individual would be required to fulfill those requirements for 3 years and be eligible for up to $50,000 in loan forgiveness annually.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed glaring gaps and weaknesses in America’s ability to respond to a public health emergency caused by an infectious disease, including insufficient preparedness and response workforce capacity at health care facilities. Infectious diseases physicians are key when preparing for or responding to a pandemic, as they are often tasked with leading physician teams tackling a public health crisis. These specialists are also needed to care for individual patients suffering from serious infectious diseases and are critical to preventing the further spread of infectious diseases.

However, the United States is facing a serious shortage of infectious diseases physicians, a problem that has exacerbated the spread of COVID-19 and jeopardized future pandemic preparedness. A June 2020 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that 208 million Americans live in areas with little or no access to an infectious diseases physician. Despite the obvious need for more of these critical frontline workers, infectious disease specialists are required to stay in school longer than most medical specialties and paid far less, on average, after graduation.

The BIO Preparedness Workforce Act would incentivize prospective physicians to choose the critically necessary infectious disease specialty by finally making it financially feasible. The bipartisan legislation has strong outside support, including from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and others.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that the bio-preparedness and infectious diseases workforce is essential to our national security and well-being.  But our workforce is under enormous strain, and we don’t have the personnel we need to prepare for future public health emergencies and respond to immediate threats. As one example, 208 million Americans live in areas with little or no access to an infectious diseases physician, as crushing student debt drives many new physicians to much more lucrative specialties. Loan repayment will help ensure that the infectious diseases specialty is a financially feasible choice for physicians and other health care professionals. The Infectious Diseases Society of America is proud to support the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act, and commends Representatives Trahan and McKinley for their leadership,” said Daniel P. McQuillen, MD, President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

“In West Virginia, we have an urgent need to attract more infectious diseases health care professionals to our state to ensure we are prepared for the next pandemic and to respond to the worsening HIV and viral hepatitis epidemics in our state,” said Judith Feinberg, MD, former Chair of the HIV Medicine Association. “By offering loan repayment to ID health care professionals, the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act will provide the support that is urgently needed to improve health equity by drawing ID and HIV health care professionals to rural and underserved areas in West Virginia and across the country. HIVMA applauds Representatives Lori Trahan and David McKinley for their leadership in sponsoring this important legislation.”

A digital copy of the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act as introduced can be accessed HERE.

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