Coronavirus Mental Health and Addiction Assistance Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 593 To establish the Coronavirus Mental Health and Addiction Assistance Network, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. RYAN (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish the Coronavirus Mental Health and Addiction Assistance Network, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coronavirus Mental 4 Health and Addiction Assistance Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. CORONAVIRUS MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION 6 ASSISTANCE NETWORK. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 8 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 9 retary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Men- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H593.IH H593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 593 IH tal Health and Substance Use, shall make competitive 1 grants to eligible entities described in subsection (c) to es- 2 tablish a Coronavirus Mental Health and Addiction Assist- 3 ance Network that provides programs for assisting individ- 4 uals in managing mental health and substance use dis- 5 orders during or in connection to the COVID–19 pan- 6 demic. 7 (b) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.—Grants awarded under 8 subsection (a) may be used— 9 (1) to initiate, expand, or sustain programs that 10 provide professional mental health and substance use 11 disorder counseling and referral for other forms of 12 assistance as necessary to assist in the management 13 of mental health and substance use disorders during 14 or in connection to the COVID–19 pandemic, 15 through— 16 (A) telephone helplines and websites; 17 (B) training, including training programs 18 and workshops; 19 (C) support groups; 20 (D) outreach and support activities, includ- 21 ing the dissemination of information, materials, 22 and equipment to clients for remote access to 23 mental health and substance use disorder serv- 24 ices; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H593.IH H593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 593 IH (E) telehealth services; or 1 (2) to enter into contracts, on a multiyear 2 basis, with community-based, direct-service organiza- 3 tions to initiate, expand, or sustain programs de- 4 scribed in paragraph (1) and subsection (a). 5 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may award 6 a grant under this section to an entity that provides evi- 7 dence-based services and is— 8 (1) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of 9 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist- 10 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) or an urban Indian or- 11 ganization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 12 Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)); 13 (2) a qualified nonprofit organization, as deter- 14 mined by the Secretary; 15 (3) an entity providing appropriate services, as 16 determined by the Secretary, in 1 or more States; or 17 (4) a partnership carried out by 2 or more enti- 18 ties described in any of paragraphs (1) through (3). 19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 21 $100,000,000, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 22 2021, to remain available until expended, or until the date 23 that is 1 year after the conclusion of the public health 24 emergency declared by the Secretary under section 319 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H593.IH H593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 593 IH of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on Jan- 1 uary 30, 2020, with respect to COVID–19, whichever is 2 earlier. 3 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS, AGENCIES, AND PUB- 4 LIC.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 6 the amount appropriated under subsection (d) is no 7 longer available, the Secretary shall submit to Con- 8 gress and any other relevant Federal department or 9 agency, and make publicly available, a report de- 10 scribing the success of the Coronavirus Mental 11 Health and Addiction Assistance Network under this 12 section in assisting in managing mental health and 13 substance use disorders during or in connection to 14 the COVID–19 pandemic. 15 (2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 16 (1) shall include— 17 (A) an inventory and assessment of efforts, 18 to support individuals seeking to manage men- 19 tal health and substance use disorders during 20 or in connection to the COVID–19 pandemic, 21 by— 22 (i) the Federal Government, States, 23 and units of local government; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H593.IH H593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 593 IH (ii) communities comprised of individ- 1 uals seeking to manage mental health and 2 substance use disorders during or in con- 3 nection to the COVID–19 pandemic; 4 (iii) health care providers; and 5 (iv) other appropriate entities, as de- 6 termined by the Secretary; 7 (B) a description of the challenges faced 8 by individuals seeking to manage mental health 9 and substance use disorders during or in con- 10 nection to the COVID–19 pandemic; 11 (C) a description of how the Secretary can 12 improve coordination and cooperation with 13 other Federal health departments and agencies, 14 including other subagencies of the Department 15 of Health and Human Services such as the 16 Health Resources and Services Administration, 17 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 and the National Institutes of Health, to best 19 address the mental health and substance use 20 disorders of individuals who are seeking to 21 manage mental health and substance use dis- 22 orders during or in connection to the COVID– 23 19 pandemic; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H593.IH H593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 593 IH (D) an evaluation of the impact that men- 1 tal health and substance use disorder challenges 2 and health outcomes (including suicide) experi- 3 enced during or in connection to the COVID– 4 19 pandemic have on— 5 (i) the health care workforce and oc- 6 cupations related to pandemic prepared- 7 ness and response; 8 (ii) workforce readiness in new occu- 9 pations for employees whose jobs became 10 obsolete; and 11 (iii) community resilience. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H593.IH H593 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS