# 119-s-5489: Sickle Cell Care Expansion Act of 2026

119-s-5489, Sickle Cell Care Expansion Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5489
- As of: 2026-10-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5489
- Congress: 119
- Title: Sickle Cell Care Expansion Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-23
- Sponsor: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-02

## Summary

**Creates new federal programs to build the sickle cell disease workforce and community supports.** It would set up scholarship and loan repayment for physicians, community education grants, and transition-of-care grants for ages 18–29, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and contingent on appropriations. - For clinicians and trainees: Would create a dual-track Scholarship and Loan Repayment program to recruit and retain physicians for sickle cell disease research, clinical care, and education. Scholarships require one year of service for each funded school year and loan repayment covers principal and interest in exchange for service, with preference for applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. - For communities and nonprofits: Creates a Community-Based Grants program to fund education, advocacy, mental health awareness, and outreach to improve access to care. Eligible recipients include community and faith-based organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and nonprofit SCD clinics. - For young adults with SCD: Authorizes Transition-of-Care Grants for people ages 18 through 29 to fund transition coordinators, care management, mental health supports, assistance finding adult providers, and specialist training through fellowships and short programs; grantees must report annually on outcomes and specialists trained. *Would authorize $150 million per year for the scholarship and loan repayment program, $50 million per year for community grants, and $70 million per year for transition grants for fiscal years 2027 through 2032, totaling $270 million per year, subject to appropriation.*

## Cosponsors (2)

- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-09-23T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants for local sickle cell education: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would direct HHS to award grants to community groups, faith-based groups, clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and nonprofits to run sickle cell education and outreach. Grants would fund health literacy, mental health awareness, information on services, and help patient…
- Scholarships and loan relief for doctors: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a HRSA program to give scholarships to medical students and loan repayment to clinicians who commit to sickle cell clinical care, education, or research. Scholarship recipients would owe one year of service for each school year paid, and loan repayment could cover…
- Sickle cell transition help for young adults: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund grants to help sickle cell patients ages 18 to 29 move from pediatric to adult care. Grants would pay for a transition coordinator, care management, help finding adult providers who work with the patient’s insurance, and mental health and appointment support. Hospita…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5489 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5489)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4504)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5489 (as of 2026-10-02).