Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

This bill grows the palliative care and hospice workforce so more people with serious illness can get help with pain, symptoms, and decision-making earlier, even alongside treatment. It funds team-based training and builds faculty and career paths in medical, nursing, social work, physician assistant, chaplaincy, psychology, and pharmacy programs.

It also lets federal health agencies share clear information with patients, families, and clinicians about what palliative care is, who provides it, and when to ask for it, and it requires the National Institutes of Health to expand research to improve quality of life across many diseases.

• Who is affected: People with serious or life‑threatening illnesses and their families; health students and workers; medical, nursing, and related schools; rural and underserved communities, Tribes, children, and racial and ethnic minority groups; and patients served by Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA.
• What changes: Grants support team-based training programs and physician fellowships; junior faculty can receive career awards; and students and professionals can receive incentive awards, with a commitment to teach or practice palliative care for at least five years. Federal websites (like VA and Medicare) will share easy-to-understand materials for the public. The bill also makes clear that no money or care under it can be used to cause or assist a patient’s death.
• When: Training program changes take effect 90 days after the bill becomes law. It allows up to $15 million per year for training programs and $5 million per year for nursing initiatives from 2026 through 2030.

Overall, the goal is to make palliative care easier to find, easier to understand, and available earlier—especially for families in rural and underserved communities.