S. 3431 — Improving Measurements for Loneliness and Isolation Act of 2025

This section establishes a Working Group on Unifying Loneliness Research, to be convened by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to develop recommendations for standardizing measurements and definitions of loneliness (i.e., subjective feeling of being isolated) and isolation (i.e., objective lack of social relationships or limited social contact). The recommendations must promote federal collaboration on (1) standardized measurements for public- and private-sector research (including surveys) and health care uses; (2) standardized definitions of loneliness, isolation, and related terms for public education and awareness; and (3) assessments of prior public- and private-sector measurement methods. The Working Group comprises senior representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Administration for Community Living, National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; one representative each from the three states needing the most and fewest mental health practitioners to eliminate all mental health care health professional shortage area designations (per Health Resources and Services Administration's June 30, 2023, report), as designated by their governors; and others as deemed appropriate by the Secretary. The Working Group must meet at least three times and, not later than one year after enactment, submit a report with its recommendations to the House Committees on Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means and the Senate Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and make the report publicly available online. This section sunsets at the end of calendar year 2027.