Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act of 2025
The Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act of 2025 amends the Public Health Service Act to address shortages of medical laboratory personnel by expanding the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) framework to include medical laboratory personnel, creating target areas for these professionals, broadening loan repayment eligibility, and establishing a new Medical Laboratory Personnel Education Program. The bill defines who counts as medical laboratory personnel (including phlebotomists, lab technicians, histotechnologists, lab scientists, medical laboratory assistants, and even genetic counselors) and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify shortage areas and assign NHSC personnel to them. It also authorizes a dedicated education grant program to develop accredited medical laboratory education programs and to recruit/train faculty, with priority given to innovative teaching methods, rural/underrepresented backgrounds, interprofessional collaboration, and cultural competency. Key funding provisions include an initial authorizing level of $25 million for the first full fiscal year after enactment, plus additional funds as needed in subsequent years. The loan repayment program is broadened to include medical laboratory personnel as eligible participants and to align qualification requirements accordingly. Overall, the bill seeks to expand the pipeline of trained medical laboratory professionals and improve service delivery in underserved areas through targeted placements, loan forgiveness, and new education funding.
Key Points
- 1Expands NHSC eligibility to include medical laboratory personnel and defines who qualifies (including various lab roles and related fields).
- 2Creates Medical Laboratory Health Professional Target Areas and requires the Secretary to identify these areas and assign NHSC personnel accordingly, updating the targeting framework to cover medical laboratory services.
- 3Extends and adjusts the NHSC loan repayment program to include medical laboratory personnel and reorganizes eligibility criteria to explicitly include degrees in medical laboratory science.
- 4Establishes the Medical Laboratory Personnel Education Program to fund accredited education programs (degrees or certificates) and to support recruitment and development of faculty, with a 3-year grant/contract period.
- 5Prioritizes funding for innovative clinical teaching, training for rural/underserved individuals, interprofessional collaboration, and cultural competency; authorizes $25 million for the first year, with ongoing funding as needed.