S4416Referred to Committee

PHS ACCESS Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-04-28
Introduced
3
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski
Republican · AK · Senator
Votes with party: 65.5% (829 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/M001153

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (3)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

2026-04-28

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

The bill would create a system allowing Public Health Service officers to be temporarily assigned to work in communities that lack adequate healthcare services, helping to expand medical care access in underserved areas. These temporary assignments would be governed by specific procedures and rules to ensure the process works smoothly and fairly. The measure would primarily affect Public Health Service officers and residents of communities struggling to access quality healthcare.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Health

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4416 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4416 To establish procedures for the detailing of Public Health Service officers for purposes of advancing care in underserved communities. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 28, 2026 Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Tillis, and Ms. Cortez Masto) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish procedures for the detailing of Public Health Service officers for purposes of advancing care in underserved communities. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Public Health Services for Advancing Care and Creating Efficient Support Systems in Underserved Communities Act'' or the ``PHS ACCESS Act''. SEC. 2. DETAIL OF PERSONNEL. (a) In General.--Section 214 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 215) is amended-- (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: ``(d) The Secretary may detail Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers to Urban Indian organizations, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, to cooperate in or conduct work related to the functions of the Department of Health and Human Services.''; and (3) in subsection (e), as so redesignated-- (A) by striking ``subsections (b) and (c)'' and inserting ``subsection (b) or (c)''; and (B) by striking ``subsections (b) or (c)'' and inserting ``subsection (b) or (c)''. (b) Appointment of Personnel.--Section 207(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 209(d)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``shall,'' and inserting ``may, at the discretion of the Secretary, after consideration of the criteria described in paragraph (5),''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(5)(A) The Secretary shall develop objective, transparent criteria for purposes of determining whether to grant a person appointed under subsection (a) constructive credit for length of service as described in paragraph (1). Such criteria shall-- ``(i) give preference to appointees who-- ``(I) serve in a rural or remote (as determined by the Secretary in accordance with objective and transparent criteria established by the Secretary) agency for which the Service is statutorily required to provide services; ``(II) are specialists in an area with a demonstrated workforce shortage; ``(III) serve in an area with significant access to care challenges; or ``(IV) serve with an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Urban Indian organization (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act); and ``(ii) consider established Federal designation systems and workforce assessments. ``(B) The Secretary shall review and update the criteria established under subparagraph (A) periodically to reflect current workforce needs.''. <all>
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