S. 3679 would reauthorize the appropriation of $45 million each year from 2025 through 2029 for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support the mental health and wellness of healthcare professionals and provide grants for those purposes. In 2024, HRSA allocated $25 million for those activities. Based on historical spending patterns for those activities and assuming the appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost $181 million over the 2025-2029 period.
The bill also would require the Department of Health and Human Services to identify and disseminate information on evidence-based practices for training healthcare professionals in appropriate strategies to prevent substance use and misuse. Based on spending for similar activities, CBO estimates that those additional requirements would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025-2029 period; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 550 (health).
Table 1.
Estimated Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation Under S. 3679
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2025-2029
Estimated Authorization
45
45
45
45
45
225
Estimated Outlays
18
34
41
44
44
181
On July 1, 2024, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 7153, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act, as reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 21, 2024. The two pieces of legislation are similar, as are CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is YeJin Ahn. The estimate was reviewed by Ann E. Futrell, Senior Adviser for Budget Analysis.
