text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Education and Training for Health 
  Act of 2017'' or the ``EAT for Health Act of 2017''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress finds the following:
              (1) According to 2013 national health expenditure data, 
          United States health care spending increased 3.6 percent to 
          reach $2.9 trillion, or $9,255 per person, and accounted for 
          17.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
              (2) According to the Institute of Medicine, in 2012 
          estimates of health care costs attributed over 75 percent of 
          national health expenditures to treatment for chronic diseases.
              (3) A March 2003 report from the World Health Organization 
          concluded diet was a major cause of chronic diseases.
              (4) Seven out of 10 deaths among people in the United 
          States each year are from chronic diseases such as 
          cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
              (5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
          Prevention, in 2013 heart disease was the leading cause of 
          death for American adults. Approximately 600,000 American 
          adults die each year from cardiovascular disease. Coronary 
          heart disease alone costs American taxpayers $108.9 billion 
          each year.
              (6) Research has shown that following a healthful diet can 
          not only reduce symptoms related to cardiovascular disease but 
          can also actually reverse damage done to the arteries.
              (7) According to the Journal of the American Medical 
          Association, two-thirds of adults in the United States are 
          currently overweight, and half of those overweight individuals 
          are obese. One in three children are overweight, and one-fifth 
          of children are obese. The United States spends about $147 to 
          $210 billion a year on obesity related diseases, including type 
          2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and arthritis.
              (8) An estimated 29.1 million people in the United States 
          have diabetes. Another 86 million American adults have 
          prediabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
          predicts that one in three children born in 2000 will develop 
          diabetes at some point in their lives. Total estimated costs of 
          diagnosed diabetes have increased 41 percent, to $245 billion 
          in 2012 from $174 billion in 2007.
              (9) According to the American Cancer Society, there will be 
          an estimated 1,658,370 new cancer cases diagnosed and 589,430 
          cancer deaths in the United States in 2015. That is equivalent 
          to about 1,620 deaths per day and accounts for nearly 1 of 
          every 4 deaths. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 
          (AHRQ) estimates that the direct medical costs for cancer in 
          the United States in 2011 were $88.7 billion.
              (10) According to the Journal of the American College of 
          Nutrition, in 2008 physicians felt inadequately trained to 
          provide proper nutrition advice. Ninety-four percent felt 
          nutrition counseling should be included during primary care 
          visits, but only 14 percent felt adequately trained to provide 
          such counseling.
              (11) A 1985 National Academy of Sciences report recommended 
          that all medical schools require at least 25 contact hours of 
          nutrition education. According to a 2009 national survey of 
          medical colleges published in Academic Medicine, only 38 
          percent of medical schools met these minimum standards by 
          requiring 25 hours of nutrition education as part of their 
          general curricula in 2004. By 2010, that number had shrunk to 
          27 percent. In addition, 30 percent of United States medical 
          schools required a dedicated nutrition course in 2004. Most 
          recently, only 25 percent of such schools required such a 
          course in 2010.
              (12) According to the Journal of Nutrition in Clinical 
          Practice in 2010, more than half of graduating medical students 
          felt their nutrition education was insufficient.
              (13) Recognizing the importance of nutrition, Healthy 
          People 2020--the Federal Government's framework for a healthier 
          Nation--includes a goal (NWS-6) to increase the proportion of 
          physician office visits that include counseling or education 
          related to nutrition or weight. According to Healthy People 
          2020, only 13.8 percent of physician office visits included 
          counseling about nutrition or diet (2010 latest year 
          available).
              (14) According to Mission: Readiness, one in four Americans 
          cannot serve in the military due to weight. For those serving, 
          the military discharged 4,300 active-duty personnel due to 
          weight problems in 2012.
              (15) According to the Journal of American Health Promotion, 
          the military spends well over $1 billion a year to treat 
          weight-related health problems such as heart disease and 
          diabetes through its TRICARE health insurance for active duty 
          personnel, reservists, retirees and their families.
              (16) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
          Prevention, American Indian or Alaska Native adults are 60 
          percent more likely to be obese and over twice as likely as to 
          have diabetes compared to White adults.
              (17) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
          Prevention, American Indian or Alaska Native adults have the 
          highest rate of diabetes among all minority groups at 15.9 
          percent.
  
  SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GUIDELINES, AND FEDERAL 
                AGENCIES ANNUAL REPORTS, RELATING TO CERTAIN PRIMARY CARE 
                FEDERAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS COMPLETING CONTINUING 
                MEDICAL EDUCATION ON NUTRITION.
  
      (a) Guidelines.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
  issue guidelines to Federal agencies for developing procedures and 
  requirements to ensure that every primary care health professional 
  employed full-time for such agencies have continuing education courses 
  relating to nutrition (as described in subsection (c)).
      (b) Biannual Reports.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
  the enactment of this Act and each subsequent year, the head of each 
  Federal agency that employs full-time primary care health professionals 
  shall submit to Congress a report attesting, in a form and manner 
  specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the extent 
  to which the agency has adopted and encouraged the guidelines issued 
  under subsection (a) with respect to such professionals employed by 
  such agency during any portion of the previous year. If the agency, 
  with respect to such previous year, did not fully adopt and encourage 
  such guidelines with respect to such professionals, the head of the 
  agency shall include in the report for the year the percentage of such 
  professionals employed by such agency to furnish primary care services 
  who completed continuing education courses relating to nutrition (as 
  described in subsection (c)).
      (c) Continuing Education Relating to Nutrition.--For purposes of 
  subsections (a) and (b), continuing education courses relating to 
  nutrition shall include at least content on the role of nutrition in 
  the prevention, management, and, as possible, reversal of obesity, 
  cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer.
      (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
              (1) Continuing education.--The term ``continuing 
          education'' is defined as courses that meet requirements for 
          Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Education (CE) 
          by medical or nurse practitioner professional organizations or 
          certified accrediting bodies.
              (2) Nurse practitioner.--The term ``nurse practitioner'' 
          has the meaning given such term in section 1861(aa)(5) of the 
          Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(5)).
              (3) Physician.--The term ``physician'' has the meaning 
          given such term in section 1861(r)(1) of the Social Security 
          Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r)(1)).
              (4) Primary care health professional.--The term ``primary 
          care health professional'' means a physician or nurse 
          practitioner who furnishes primary care services.
              (5) Primary care services.--The term ``primary care 
          services'' has the meaning given such term in section 
          1842(i)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(i)(4)), 
          but shall include such services furnished by a nurse 
          practitioner as would otherwise be included if furnished by a 
          physician.
target: Education and Training for Health Act of 2017 or the EAT for Health Act of 2017  This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidelines to federal agencies to ensure that federal, full time primary care health professionals have continuing education relating to nutrition. Agencies must annually report information including the extent to which they have adopted and encouraged the guidelines. The continuing education must: (1) include content on the role of nutrition in the prevention, management, and reversal of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer; and (2) meet requirements for continuing medical education or continuing education by medical or nurse practitioner professional organizations or certified accrediting bodies.
feat_title: Education and Training for Health Act of 2017