SOBER Homes Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2367 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the quality and effectiveness of covered recovery housing in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 5, 2021 Mr. LEVIN of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the quality and effectiveness of covered recovery hous- ing in the United States, 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 ‘‘Studying Outcomes 4 and Benchmarks for Effective Recovery Homes Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘SOBER Homes Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2367 IH SEC. 2. NAS STUDY AND REPORT. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 3 Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary 4 for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall enter into an 5 arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, 6 Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study, which may 7 include a literature review and case studies as appropriate, 8 on— 9 (1) the quality and effectiveness of recovery 10 housing in the United States, including the avail- 11 ability in the United States of high-quality recovery 12 housing and whether that availability meets the de- 13 mand for such housing in the United States; and 14 (2) State, Tribal, and local regulation and over- 15 sight of recovery housing. 16 (b) TOPICS.—The study under subsection (a) shall 17 include a literature review of studies that— 18 (1) examine the quality of, and effectiveness 19 outcomes for, the types and characteristics of cov- 20 ered recovery housing programs listed in subsection 21 (c); and 22 (2) identify the research and data gaps that 23 must be filled to better report on the quality of, and 24 effectiveness outcomes related to, covered recovery 25 housing. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2367 IH (c) TYPE AND CHARACTERISTICS.—The types and 1 characteristics of covered recovery housing programs re- 2 ferred to in subsection (b) consist of the following: 3 (1) Nonprofit and for-profit covered recovery 4 housing. 5 (2) Private and public covered recovery housing. 6 (3) Covered recovery housing programs that 7 provide services to— 8 (A) residents on a voluntary basis; and 9 (B) residents pursuant to a judicial order. 10 (4) Number of clients served, disaggregated to 11 the extent possible by covered recovery housing serv- 12 ing— 13 (A) 6 or fewer recovering residents; 14 (B) 10 to 13 recovering residents; and 15 (C) 18 or more recovering residents. 16 (5) Bedroom occupancy in a house, 17 disaggregated to the extent possible by— 18 (A) single room occupancy; 19 (B) 2 residents occupying 1 room; and 20 (C) more than 2 residents occupying 1 21 room. 22 (6) Duration of services received by clients, 23 disaggregated to the extent possible according to 24 whether the services were— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2367 IH (A) 30 days or fewer; 1 (B) 31 to 90 days; 2 (C) more than 90 days and fewer than 6 3 months; or 4 (D) 6 months or more. 5 (7) Certification levels of staff. 6 (8) Fraudulent and abusive practices by opera- 7 tors of covered recovery housing and inpatient and 8 outpatient treatment facilities, both individually and 9 in concert, including— 10 (A) deceptive or misleading marketing 11 practices, including— 12 (i) inaccurate outcomes-based mar- 13 keting; and 14 (ii) marketing based on non-evidence 15 based practices; 16 (B) illegal patient brokering; 17 (C) third-party recruiters; 18 (D) deceptive or misleading marketing 19 practices of treatment facility and recovery 20 housing online aggregators; and 21 (E) the impact of such practices on health 22 care costs and recovery rates. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2367 IH (d) REPORT.—The arrangement under subsection (a) 1 shall require, by not later than 12 months after the date 2 of entering into the agreement— 3 (1) completing the study under such subsection; 4 and 5 (2) making publicly available (including through 6 publication on the internet) a report that contains— 7 (A) the results of the study; 8 (B) the National Academy’s recommenda- 9 tions for Federal, State, and local policies to 10 promote the availability of high-quality recovery 11 housing in the United States; 12 (C) research and data gaps; 13 (D) recommendations for recovery housing 14 quality and effectiveness metrics; 15 (E) recommended mechanisms to collect 16 data on those metrics, including with respect to 17 research and data gaps; and 18 (F) a summary of allegations, assertions, 19 or formal legal actions on the State and local 20 levels by governments and nongovernmental or- 21 ganizations with respect to the opening and op- 22 eration of recovery housing. 23 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2367 IH (1) The term ‘‘covered recovery housing’’ means 1 recovery housing that utilizes compensated or volun- 2 teer onsite staff who are not health care profes- 3 sionals to support residents. 4 (2) The term ‘‘effectiveness outcomes’’ may in- 5 clude decreased substance use, reduced probability of 6 relapse or reoccurrence, lower rates of incarceration, 7 higher income, increased employment, and improved 8 family functioning. 9 (3) The term ‘‘health care professional’’ means 10 an individual who is licensed or otherwise authorized 11 by the State to provide health care services. 12 (4) The term ‘‘recovery housing’’ means a 13 shared living environment that is or purports to 14 be— 15 (A) free from alcohol and use of nonpre- 16 scribed drugs; and 17 (B) centered on connection to services that 18 promote sustained recovery from substance use 19 disorders. 20 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 21 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 22 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2022. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2367 IH SEC. 3. FILLING RESEARCH AND DATA GAPS. 1 Not later than 60 days after the completion of the 2 study under section 5, the Secretary of Health and 3 Human Services shall enter into an agreement with an ap- 4 propriate entity to conduct such research as may be nec- 5 essary to fill the research and data gaps identified in re- 6 porting pursuant to such section. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2367.IH H2367 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS