The bipartisan Bolstering Infectious Outbreaks (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act (S.3244/H.R. 5602), introduced by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate and Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA) and David McKinley (R-WV) in the House of Representatives, would create a new loan repayment program for health care professionals conducting bio-preparedness activities, including antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control, and providing infectious diseases care in underserved communities and in federally funded facilities. The new program would help to ensure the availability of infectious diseases health care professionals in communities across the country to prevent and respond to public health threats and care for people with hepatitis C, HIV, infections linked to substance use and other serious infections.
Help Advance Loan Repayment for the Infectious Diseases Workforce
Contact Your Members of Congress
Help build bipartisan support in Congress by urging your senators and representative to cosponsor the legislation.
Organizational Endorsement Letter
Add your organization to the growing list of organizations that support a new loan repayment program for bio-preparedness and infectious diseases health care professions.
Learn About the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act
S.3244/H.R. 5602 – BIO Preparedness Workforce Act of 2021
Details about the bill including the legislative text and current cosponsors.
BIO Preparedness Workforce Act One Pager
Quick snapshot of the bill, why it is needed and the growing list of supporting organizations.
BIO Preparedness Workforce Act Section-by-Section Summary
A summary of the loan repayment provisions for bio-preparedness and infectious diseases health care professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guidance on a range of issues including why the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act is needed, who is eligible and how the new program would relate to other loan repayment programs.
Learn More About Bio-preparedness & Infectious Diseases Workforce Shortages
Where Is the ID in COVID-19? Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)
A national study evaluating the density of infectious diseases physicians by county that found that 208 million Americans live in counties with no or below-average ID physician coverage.
HIV-Experienced Clinician Workforce Capacity: Urban-Rural Disparities in the Southern United States Clinical Infectious Diseases (2021)
A study finding that more than 80% of counties in 14 Southern states have no HIV-experienced clinicians.
The American Society for Clinical Pathology’s 2018 Vacancy Survey of Medical Laboratories in the United States American Journal of Clinical Pathology (2019)
A study documenting serious shortages of medical laboratory department staff across the U.S.
In the News
Protecting rural Washington against the next pandemic
Op-ed published by Rachel Bender Ignacio, MD, MPH in The Spokesman-Review (2/15/22) discussing the importance of the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act to Washington and surrounding states.
Let’s Talk ID: The Bolstering Infectious Outbreaks (BIO) Pre-preparedness Workforce Act
IDSA President Dan McQuillen, MD, FIDSA, discusses the importance of the bill with one of the lead House sponsors, Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA), and IDSA member Kinna Thakarar, DO.
Energy & Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee Hearing (10/26/21)
IDSA Treasurer Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, FIDSA, testified at a hearing detailing the importance of the bill to improve health equity in Alabama and communities across the country.
IDSA and HIVMA Support BIO Preparedness Workforce Act
In a news release, IDSA and HIVMA urge Congress to move swiftly to advance H.R. 5602, the Bolstering Infectious Outbreaks (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act.