ENCOURAGING HEALTH PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEERS.

SEC. 303. ENCOURAGING HEALTH PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEERS.(a) Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps.—Title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–11 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is amended by inserting after section 2812 the following:“SEC. 2813. VOLUNTEER MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS.“(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, the Secretary, in collaboration with State, local, and tribal officials, shall build on State, local, and tribal programs in existence on the date of enactment of such Act to establish and maintain a Medical Reserve Corps (referred to in this section as the ‘Corps’) to provide for an adequate supply of volunteers in the case of a Federal, State, local, or tribal public health emergency. The Corps shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the Secretary and shall oversee the activities of the Corps chapters that exist at the State, local, and tribal levels.“(b) State, Local, and Tribal Coordination.—The Corps shall be established using existing State, local, and tribal teams and shall not alter such teams.“(c) Composition.—The Corps shall be composed of individuals who—“(1)(A) are health professionals who have appropriate professional training and expertise as determined appropriate by the Director of the Corps; or“(B) are non-health professionals who have an interest in serving in an auxiliary or support capacity to facilitate access to health care services in a public health emergency;“(2) are certified in accordance with the certification program developed under subsection (d);“(3) are geographically diverse in residence;“(4) have registered and carry out training exercises with a local chapter of the Medical Reserve Corps; and120 STAT. 2857“(5) indicate whether they are willing to be deployed outside the area in which they reside in the event of a public health emergency.“(d) Certification; Drills.—“(1) Certification.—The Director, in collaboration with State, local, and tribal officials, shall establish a process for the periodic certification of individuals who volunteer for the Corps, as determined by the Secretary, which shall include the completion by each individual of the core training programs developed under section 319F, as required by the Director. Such certification shall not supercede State licensing or credentialing requirements.“(2) Drills.—In conjunction with the core training programs referred to in paragraph (1), and in order to facilitate the integration of trained volunteers into the health care system at the local level, Corps members shall engage in periodic training exercises to be carried out at the local level.“(e) Deployment.—During a public health emergency, the Secretary shall have the authority to activate and deploy willing members of the Corps to areas of need, taking into consideration the public health and medical expertise required, with the concurrence of the State, local, or tribal officials from the area where the members reside.“(f) Expenses and Transportation.—While engaged in performing duties as a member of the Corps pursuant to an assignment by the Secretary (including periods of travel to facilitate such assignment), members of the Corps who are not otherwise employed by the Federal Government shall be allowed travel or transportation expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence.“(g) Identification.—The Secretary, in cooperation and consultation with the States, shall develop a Medical Reserve Corps Identification Card that describes the licensure and certification information of Corps members, as well as other identifying information determined necessary by the Secretary.“(h) Intermittent Disaster-Response Personnel.—“(1) In general.—For the purpose of assisting the Corps in carrying out duties under this section, during a public health emergency, the Secretary may appoint selected individuals to serve as intermittent personnel of such Corps in accordance with applicable civil service laws and regulations. In all other cases, members of the Corps are subject to the laws of the State in which the activities of the Corps are undertaken.“(2) Applicable protections.—Subsections (c)(2), (d), and (e) of section 2812 shall apply to an individual appointed under paragraph (1) in the same manner as such subsections apply to an individual appointed under section 2812(c).“(3) Limitation.—State, local, and tribal officials shall have no authority to designate a member of the Corps as Federal intermittent disaster-response personnel, but may request the services of such members.“(i) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $22,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.” .(b) Encouraging Health Professions Volunteers.—Section 319I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–7b) is amended—120 STAT. 2858(1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (j) and (k), respectively;(2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the following:“(a) In General.—Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, the Secretary shall link existing State verification systems to maintain a single national interoperable network of systems, each system being maintained by a State or group of States, for the purpose of verifying the credentials and licenses of health care professionals who volunteer to provide health services during a public health emergency.“(b) Requirements.—The interoperable network of systems established under subsection (a) (referred to in this section as the ‘verification network’) shall include—“(1) with respect to each volunteer health professional included in the verification network—“(A) information necessary for the rapid identification of, and communication with, such professionals; and“(B) the credentials, certifications, licenses, and relevant training of such individuals; and“(2) the name of each member of the Medical Reserve Corps, the National Disaster Medical System, and any other relevant federally-sponsored or administered programs determined necessary by the Secretary.”;(3) in subsection (c), strike “system” and insert “network”; and(4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:“(d) Accessibility.—The Secretary shall ensure that the verification network is electronically accessible by State, local, and tribal health departments and can be linked with the identification cards under section 2813.“(e) Confidentiality.—The Secretary shall establish and require the application of and compliance with measures to ensure the effective security of, integrity of, and access to the data included in the verification network.“(f) Coordination.—The Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess the feasibility of integrating the verification network under this section with the VetPro system of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Emergency Responder Credentialing System of the Department of Homeland Security. The Secretary shall, if feasible, integrate the verification network under this section with such VetPro system and the National Emergency Responder Credentialing System.“(g) Updating of Information.—The States that are participants in the verification network shall, on at least a quarterly basis, work with the Director to provide for the updating of the information contained in the verification network.“(h) Clarification.—Inclusion of a health professional in the verification network shall not constitute appointment of such individual as a Federal employee for any purpose, either under section 2812(c) or otherwise. Such appointment may only be made under section 2812 or 2813.“(i) Health Care Provider Licenses.—The Secretary shall encourage States to establish and implement mechanisms to waive 120 STAT. 2859 the application of licensing requirements applicable to health professionals, who are seeking to provide medical services (within their scope of practice), during a national, State, local, or tribal public health emergency upon verification that such health professionals are licensed and in good standing in another State and have not been disciplined by any State health licensing or disciplinary board.”; and(5) in subsection (k) (as so redesignated), by striking “2006” and inserting “2011”.