U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) remain committed to passing the Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act (PCHETA).
If enacted, PCHETA would provide support for hospice and palliative care training programs for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and chaplains. The legislation would also expand continuing education and career-development opportunities, as well as incentives for professionals in these fields.
Both Baldwin and Capito have served as caregivers for seriously ill family members.
“Moving the [PCHETA] forward remains a priority for me. The need for high-quality palliative and hospice care services — which are vital for patients and their families—continues to grow, making passage of PCHETA needed now more than ever,” Capito told Hospice News. “As a caregiver for parents that suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, I saw firsthand just how valuable these services can be.”
The bill would establish fellowships through new palliative care and hospice education centers, providing short-term, intensive training. It also would create incentive-based award programs across relevant healthcare disciplines.
Additional provisions would support training for medical school faculty and other healthcare educators, along with workforce-development resources and projects aimed at improving nurse retention.
Beyond addressing workforce needs, PCHETA also would create new opportunities to raise public awareness of hospice and palliative care.
“It was an honor for me to serve as my grandmother’s caregiver as she got older, but it was also hard, often unseen and thankless work,” Baldwin told Hospice News. “That experience shaped my perspective and drives me to do right by our caregivers and the people they care for. That’s why I’ve been proud to champion expanding access to affordable, quality palliative care and treatment for Americans with serious illnesses.”
Lawmakers have introduced the PCHETA legislation repeatedly over the past decade, but the legislation has yet to pass. Most recently, Baldwin and Capito reintroduced the bill in 2025. Around the same time, Reps. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.) and Ami Bera (D-Calif.) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
PCHETA has been introduced in eight Congresses, beginning in 2012 and continuing through the current 119th Congress, with at least 14 bills introduced in the House and Senate.
Bolstering the hospice and palliative care workforce is essential to ensure that seriously and terminally ill patients receive the healthcare services they need, according to Baldwin.
“While legislation like PCHETA isn’t over the finish line, the need to invest in our care workforce is an issue that impacts every American, regardless of where you live,” Baldwin said. “As I work to garner the support we need for this legislation from Democrats and Republicans, I’ll continue to advocate on behalf of family and professional caregivers whose hard work deserves the recognition, dignity and compensation it deserves.”
