Clinicians and advocacy groups are pressing Congress on two major legislative efforts to better support the nation’s healthcare workforce: a proposed tax credit for healthcare providers practicing in shortage areas and a push to fund the only federal law dedicated to preventing clinician burnout and suicide.
Here is what health system leaders need to know about both.
The Healthcare is Human Act.
A bipartisan bill introduced earlier this year would offer clinicians a direct financial incentive to practice in the communities facing the most severe clinician shortages.
1. The Healthcare is Human Act would create a federal tax credit of up to $6,000 a year for healthcare professionals working in federally designated shortage areas. There are currently more than 8,900 primary care, 7,900 dental and 7,100 mental health shortage areas nationwide, according to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
2. Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) introduced the bill March 9, which was developed in partnership with the healthcare apparel company FIGS. It has since been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
3. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to give eligible clinicians a tiered monthly credit: $300 for 81 to 120 hours of care, $400 for 121 to 160 hours and $500 for more than 160 hours. To qualify, a clinician must log at least 80 hours per month for at least eight months of the year at a facility enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid within a Health Professional Shortage Area, or at a VA medical facility. The credit is unavailable to clinicians earning more than $200,000 annually, or $400,000 for joint filers. Credits would sunset after Dec. 31, 2030.
4. The legislation also requires the Government Accountability Office to assess whether the credit improved retention and access in shortage areas, and publish a report on its findings by June 2030.
5. Members of Congress from both parties, nurses, physicians and actor Noah Wyle — whose mother, Marty Wyle, is a nurse of nearly 50 years — rallied on Capitol Hill May 21 to call for the bill’s passage. Speakers also pushed for the Healthcare Professional Speak Free Act, a measure FIGS and advocates are developing that would protect clinicians who speak out about patient or workplace safety concerns from retaliation. No timeline for the bill’s introduction has been shared.
The Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act
This federal law dedicated to clinician mental health has been reauthorized through 2030, but its programs depend on annual congressional funding that has not yet been finalized.
1. The Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act, signed into law in March 2022, is the only federal statute dedicated to preventing suicide and reducing burnout among healthcare workers. It is named after Lorna Breen, MD, a New York City emergency physician who died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
2. The law funds grant programs for hospitals, health systems, health professions schools and community organizations to improve the mental health and well-being of the healthcare workforce.
3. Congress reauthorized the law through September 2030 in February as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. However, funding must still be appropriated each fiscal year through a separate congressional vote, and that effort is now underway for fiscal year 2027. Advocates are urging lawmakers to allocate at least $45 million for Lorna Breen Act programs.
4. The law has already reached more than 250,000 healthcare workers across 44 evidence-informed initiatives in 24 states, according to the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation. Some grantees have reported a 37% reduction in burnout rates and a 50% decrease in mental health conditions. The law’s Impact Wellbeing initiative has also provided more than 35,000 healthcare leaders with training materials targeting the operational factors driving workforce burnout.
5. As of late January, the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation reported that 43 medical licensure boards, eight dental licensure boards, eight nursing licensure boards and 11 pharmacy licensure boards had removed mental health questions from licensing applications, a barrier that has historically discouraged clinicians from seeking mental healthcare.
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