Pathways to Health Careers Act

This bill rewrites the federal Health Profession Opportunity Grants program in the Social Security Act, starting October 1, 2026. It would fund grants to train people with family incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level for health care jobs such as nursing assistants, nurses, paramedics, and allied health workers. Grantees must provide basic skills help, child care support, transportation help, and career coaching, and may offer cash stipends that would not count as taxable income. The bill also funds demonstration projects for people with arrest or conviction records and for careers in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care, such as doulas and midwives. It appropriates $435 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 and requires evaluations and reports to Congress.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Martin Heinrich Democrat sponsor
• 7 cosponsors