Excellence in Recovery Housing Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2376 To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for increased oversight of recovery housing, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 5, 2021 Mr. TRONE (for himself, Ms. CHU, Mr. LEVIN of California, and Mr. MCKIN- LEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for increased oversight of recovery housing, 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 ‘‘Excellence in Recovery 4 Housing Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2376 IH SEC. 2. CLARIFYING THE ROLE OF SAMHSA IN PROMOTING 1 THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY RECOV- 2 ERY HOUSING. 3 Section 501(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 4 U.S.C. 290aa) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (24)(E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 6 the end; 7 (2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at 8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(26) collaborate with national accrediting enti- 11 ties and reputable providers and analysts of recovery 12 housing services and all relevant Federal agencies, 13 including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv- 14 ices, the Health Resources and Services Administra- 15 tion, other offices and agencies within the Depart- 16 ment of Health and Human Services, the Office of 17 National Drug Control Policy, the Department of 18 Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban De- 19 velopment, and the Department of Agriculture, to 20 promote the availability of high-quality recovery 21 housing for individuals with a substance use dis- 22 order.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2376 IH SEC. 3. DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO PRO- 1 MOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY 2 RECOVERY HOUSING. 3 Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended 4 by inserting after section 550 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5 290ee–5) the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 550A. DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO 7 PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUAL- 8 ITY RECOVERY HOUSING. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 10 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 11 through the Assistant Secretary, shall develop, and pub- 12 lish on the internet website of the Substance Abuse and 13 Mental Health Services Administration, consensus-based 14 guidelines and nationally recognized standards for States 15 to promote the availability of high-quality recovery hous- 16 ing for individuals with a substance use disorder. Such 17 guidelines shall— 18 ‘‘(1) be developed in consultation with national 19 accrediting entities, reputable providers and analysts 20 of recovery housing services, and States and be con- 21 sistent with the best practices developed under sec- 22 tion 550; and 23 ‘‘(2) to the extent practicable, build on existing 24 best practices and suggested guidelines developed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2376 IH previously by the Substance Abuse and Mental 1 Health Services Administration. 2 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—Before finalizing 3 guidelines under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health 4 and Human Services shall provide for a public comment 5 period. 6 ‘‘(c) EXCLUSION OF GUIDELINE ON TREATMENT 7 SERVICES.—In developing the guidelines under subsection 8 (a), the Secretary may not include any guideline or stand- 9 ard with respect to substance use disorder treatment serv- 10 ices. 11 ‘‘(d) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT SERV- 12 ICES.—In this section, the term ‘substance use disorder 13 treatment services’ means items or services furnished for 14 the treatment of a substance use disorder, including— 15 ‘‘(1) medications approved by the Food and 16 Drug Administration for use in such treatment, ex- 17 cluding each such medication used to prevent or 18 treat a drug overdose; 19 ‘‘(2) the administering of such medications; 20 ‘‘(3) recommendations for such treatment; 21 ‘‘(4) clinical assessments and referrals; 22 ‘‘(5) counseling with a physician, psychologist, 23 or mental health professional (including individual 24 and group therapy); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2376 IH ‘‘(6) toxicology testing.’’. 1 SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO PRO- 2 MOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY 3 RECOVERY HOUSING. 4 Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 5 U.S.C. 290ee–5) is amended— 6 (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and 7 (g) as subsections (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and 8 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO 11 PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY RECOV- 12 ERY HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A SUBSTANCE 13 USE DISORDER.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 15 through the Assistant Secretary, and the Secretary 16 of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- 17 ment shall convene and serve as the co-chairs of an 18 interagency working group composed of representa- 19 tives of each of the Federal agencies described in 20 paragraph (2) (referred to in this section as the 21 ‘working group’) for the following purposes: 22 ‘‘(A) To increase collaboration, coopera- 23 tion, and consultation among such Federal 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2376 IH agencies, with respect to promoting the avail- 1 ability of high-quality recovery housing. 2 ‘‘(B) To align the efforts of such agencies 3 and avoid duplication of such efforts by such 4 agencies. 5 ‘‘(C) To develop objectives, priorities, and 6 a long-term plan for supporting State, Tribal, 7 and local efforts with respect to the operation 8 of high-quality recovery housing that is con- 9 sistent with the best practices developed under 10 this section. 11 ‘‘(D) To coordinate inspection and enforce- 12 ment among Federal and State agencies. 13 ‘‘(E) To coordinate data collection on the 14 quality of recovery housing. 15 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The 16 Federal agencies described in this paragraph are the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(A) The Department of Health and 19 Human Services. 20 ‘‘(B) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 21 Services. 22 ‘‘(C) The Substance Abuse and Mental 23 Health Services Administration. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2376 IH ‘‘(D) The Health Resources and Services 1 Administration. 2 ‘‘(E) The Indian Health Service. 3 ‘‘(F) The Department of Housing and 4 Urban Development. 5 ‘‘(G) The Department of Agriculture. 6 ‘‘(H) The Department of Justice. 7 ‘‘(I) The Office of National Drug Control 8 Policy. 9 ‘‘(J) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 10 ‘‘(K) The Department of Labor. 11 ‘‘(L) Any other Federal agency as the co- 12 chairs determine appropriate. 13 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The working group shall 14 meet on a quarterly basis. 15 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Beginning not 16 later than one year after the date of the enactment 17 of this section and annually thereafter, the working 18 group shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 19 Commerce, the Committee on Ways and Means, the 20 Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on 21 Financial Services of the House of Representatives 22 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 23 and Pensions, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri- 24 tion, and Forestry, and the Committee on Finance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2376 IH of the Senate a report describing the work of the 1 working group and any recommendations of the 2 working group to improve Federal, State, and local 3 policy with respect to recovery housing operations. 4 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 5 To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 6 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 7 fiscal years 2022 through 2027.’’. 8 SEC. 5. NAS STUDY AND REPORT. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 11 Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary 12 for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall enter into an 13 arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, 14 Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study, which may 15 include a literature review and case studies as appropriate, 16 on— 17 (1) the quality and effectiveness of recovery 18 housing in the United States, including the avail- 19 ability in the United States of high-quality recovery 20 housing and whether that availability meets the de- 21 mand for such housing in the United States; and 22 (2) State, Tribal, and local regulation and over- 23 sight of recovery housing. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2376 IH (b) TOPICS.—The study under subsection (a) shall 1 include a literature review of studies that— 2 (1) examine the quality of, and effectiveness 3 outcomes for, the types and characteristics of cov- 4 ered recovery housing programs listed in subsection 5 (c); and 6 (2) identify the research and data gaps that 7 must be filled to better report on the quality of, and 8 effectiveness outcomes related to, covered recovery 9 housing. 10 (c) TYPE AND CHARACTERISTICS.—The types and 11 characteristics of covered recovery housing programs re- 12 ferred to in subsection (b) consist of the following: 13 (1) Nonprofit and for-profit covered recovery 14 housing. 15 (2) Private and public covered recovery housing. 16 (3) Covered recovery housing programs that 17 provide services to— 18 (A) residents on a voluntary basis; and 19 (B) residents pursuant to a judicial order. 20 (4) Number of clients served, disaggregated to 21 the extent possible by covered recovery housing serv- 22 ing— 23 (A) 6 or fewer recovering residents; 24 (B) 10 to 13 recovering residents; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2376 IH (C) 18 or more recovering residents. 1 (5) Bedroom occupancy in a house, 2 disaggregated to the extent possible by— 3 (A) single room occupancy; 4 (B) 2 residents occupying 1 room; and 5 (C) more than 2 residents occupying 1 6 room. 7 (6) Duration of services received by clients, 8 disaggregated to the extent possible according to 9 whether the services were— 10 (A) 30 days or fewer; 11 (B) 31 to 90 days; 12 (C) more than 90 days and fewer than 6 13 months; or 14 (D) 6 months or more. 15 (7) Certification levels of staff. 16 (8) Fraudulent and abusive practices by opera- 17 tors of covered recovery housing and inpatient and 18 outpatient treatment facilities, both individually and 19 in concert, including— 20 (A) deceptive or misleading marketing 21 practices, including— 22 (i) inaccurate outcomes-based mar- 23 keting; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2376 IH (ii) marketing based on non-evidence- 1 based practices; 2 (B) illegal patient brokering; 3 (C) third-party recruiters; 4 (D) deceptive or misleading marketing 5 practices of treatment facility and recovery 6 housing online aggregators; and 7 (E) the impact of such practices on health 8 care costs and recovery rates. 9 (d) REPORT.—The arrangement under subsection (a) 10 shall require, by not later than 18 months after the date 11 of entering into the agreement— 12 (1) completing the study under such subsection; 13 and 14 (2) making publicly available (including through 15 publication on the internet) a report that contains— 16 (A) the results of the study; 17 (B) the National Academy’s recommenda- 18 tions for Federal, State, and local policies to 19 promote the availability of high-quality recovery 20 housing in the United States; 21 (C) research and data gaps; 22 (D) recommendations for recovery housing 23 quality and effectiveness metrics; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2376 IH (E) recommended mechanisms to collect 1 data on those metrics, including with respect to 2 research and data gaps; 3 (F) recommendations to eliminate restric- 4 tions by recovery housing that exclude individ- 5 uals who take prescribed medications for opioid 6 use disorder; and 7 (G) a summary of allegations, assertions, 8 or formal legal actions on the State and local 9 levels by governments and nongovernmental or- 10 ganizations with respect to the opening and op- 11 eration of recovery housing. 12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 13 (1) The term ‘‘covered recovery housing’’ means 14 recovery housing that utilizes compensated or volun- 15 teer onsite staff who are not health care profes- 16 sionals to support residents. 17 (2) The term ‘‘effectiveness outcomes’’ may in- 18 clude decreased substance use, reduced probability of 19 relapse or reoccurrence, lower rates of incarceration, 20 higher income, increased employment, and improved 21 family functioning. 22 (3) The term ‘‘health care professional’’ means 23 an individual who is licensed or otherwise authorized 24 by the State to provide health care services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2376.IH H2376 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2376 IH (4) The term ‘‘recovery housing’’ means a 1 shared living environment that is or purports to 2 be— 3 (A) free from alcohol and use of nonpre- 4 scribed drugs; and 5 (B) centered on connection to services that 6 promote sustained recovery from substance use 7 disorders. 8 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 9 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 10 $1,500,0 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]