SERVE Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1309 To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for eating disorders treatment for members of the Armed Forces and certain dependents of members and former members of the uniformed services, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Mr. KATKO, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. CROW, Ms. CHU, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. RYAN, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. CONNOLLY, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RUSH, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. KEATING, Ms. OMAR, Mr. CLEAVER, and Mr. LEVIN of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for eating disorders treatment for members of the Armed Forces and certain dependents of members and former members of the uniformed services, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1309 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Eating dis- 2 orders Recovery through Vital Expansion Act’’ or the 3 ‘‘SERVE Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. EATING DISORDERS TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN 5 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND DE- 6 PENDENTS. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Eating disorders affect approximately 9 30,000,000 Americans (or nine percent of the popu- 10 lation) during their lifetime, including individuals 11 from every age, gender, body size, race, ethnicity, 12 and socioeconomic status. 13 (2) Eating disorders are severe, biologically 14 based, mental illnesses caused by a complex inter- 15 action of genetic, biological, social, behavioral, and 16 psychological factors. 17 (3) Eating disorders result in the second high- 18 est case fatality rate of any mental illness, with one 19 death occurring every 52 minutes as a direct result 20 of an eating disorder due to serious medical co- 21 morbidities and suicide. 22 (4) Untreated eating disorders cost the econ- 23 omy of the United States $64.70 billion annually, 24 with families and individuals experiencing an eco- 25 nomic loss of $23.50 billion annually. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1309 IH (5) A study from the Armed Forces Health 1 Surveillance Branch found that diagnoses of eating 2 disorders among military personnel increased by 26 3 percent from 2013 to 2016. Although accurate esti- 4 mates are challenging due to underreporting, the 5 prevalence of eating disorders in the military is two 6 to three times higher than in the civilian population. 7 (6) The Defense Health Board found that fe- 8 male members of the Armed Forces on active duty 9 experience high rates of eating disorders, which can 10 adversely affect their readiness and health. 11 (7) Risk factors for eating disorders in the mili- 12 tary include pressure to maintain weight and fitness 13 standards, trauma, sexual harassment, weight stig- 14 matization, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 15 (8) Family members of members of the Armed 16 Forces have a higher prevalence of eating disorders 17 than the general population, with 21 percent of chil- 18 dren and 26 percent of spouses of members of the 19 Armed Forces found at risk of developing an eating 20 disorder. 21 (9) Research demonstrates a strong correlation 22 between a military spouse and their adolescent 23 child’s risk for an eating disorder. Adolescent female 24 military dependents are more likely to be at risk for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1309 IH an eating disorder if their non-military parent is at 1 risk for an eating disorder. 2 (b) EATING DISORDERS TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN 3 DEPENDENTS.—Section 1079 of title 10, United States 4 Code, is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 6 following new paragraph: 7 ‘‘(18) Treatment for eating disorders may be 8 provided in accordance with subsection (r).’’; and 9 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 10 section: 11 ‘‘(r)(1) The provision of health care services for an 12 eating disorder under subsection (a)(18) shall include the 13 following services: 14 ‘‘(A) Inpatient services, including residential 15 services. 16 ‘‘(B) Outpatient services for in-person or tele- 17 health care, including partial hospitalization services 18 and intensive outpatient services. 19 ‘‘(2) A dependent may be provided health care serv- 20 ices for an eating disorder under subsection (a)(18) with- 21 out regard to— 22 ‘‘(A) the age of the dependent, except with re- 23 spect to residential services under paragraph (1)(B), 24 which may be provided only to a dependent who is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1309 IH not eligible for hospital insurance benefits under 1 part A of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 2 U.S.C. 1395c et seq.); and 3 ‘‘(B) whether the eating disorder is the primary 4 or secondary diagnosis of the dependent. 5 ‘‘(3) In this section, the term ‘eating disorder’ has 6 the meaning given the term ‘feeding and eating disorders’ 7 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Dis- 8 orders, 5th Edition (or successor edition), published by the 9 American Psychiatric Association.’’. 10 (c) IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF EATING 11 DISORDERS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.— 12 Section 1090 of title 10, United States Code, is amend- 13 ed— 14 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Defense’’ and 15 inserting the following: 16 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF EATING 17 DISORDERS AND DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE.— 18 The Secretary of Defense’’; 19 (2) by inserting ‘‘have an eating disorder or’’ 20 before ‘‘are dependent on drugs or alcohol’’; and 21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 22 sections: 23 ‘‘(b) FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH 24 EATING DISORDERS.—For purposes of this section, ‘nec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1309 IH essary facilities’ described in subsection (a) shall include, 1 with respect to individuals who have an eating disorder, 2 facilities that provide the services specified in section 3 1079(r)(1) of this title. 4 ‘‘(c) EATING DISORDER DEFINED.—In this section, 5 the term ‘eating disorder’ has the meaning given that term 6 in section 1079(r)(3) of this title.’’. 7 (d) CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA 8 RELATING TO EATING DISORDERS.— 9 (1) GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA.—Not later 10 than two years after the date of the enactment of 11 this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 12 of Veterans Affairs shall jointly develop, publish, 13 and disseminate clinical practice guidelines and cri- 14 teria for the identification and treatment of eating 15 disorders. Such guidelines shall be consistent with 16 generally accepted standards of care. 17 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out sub- 18 section (a), the Secretaries shall consult with, and 19 incorporate into the guidelines and criteria developed 20 under such subsection the recommendations and 21 guidelines of, the following: 22 (A) The Administrator of the Substance 23 Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1309 IH (B) The Director of the Centers for Dis- 1 ease Control and Prevention. 2 (C) The Director of the National Institute 3 of Mental Health. 4 (D) Nonprofit clinical specialty associa- 5 tions and any other organizations or associa- 6 tions determined relevant by the Secretaries. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Apr 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1309.IH H1309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS