Mental Health Equity Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4388 To address mental health issues for youth, particularly youth of color, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 30, 2020 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. STABE- NOW, Mr. BENNET, Ms. SMITH, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. BALDWIN, and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To address mental health issues for youth, particularly youth of color, 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 ‘‘Mental Health Equity 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—HEALTH EQUITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4388 IS Sec. 101. Integrated Health Care Demonstration Program. Sec. 102. Addressing racial and ethnic minority mental health disparities re- search gaps. Sec. 103. Health professions competencies to address racial and ethnic minority mental health disparities. Sec. 104. Racial and ethnic minority behavioral and mental health outreach and education strategy. Sec. 105. Additional funds for National Institutes of Health. Sec. 106. Additional funds for National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS Sec. 201. Reauthorization of Minority Fellowship Program. Sec. 202. Commission on the Effects of Smartphone and Social Media Use on Adolescents. Sec. 203. No Federal funds for conversion therapy. TITLE I—HEALTH EQUITY AND 1 ACCOUNTABILITY 2 SEC. 101. INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE DEMONSTRATION 3 PROGRAM. 4 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 5 (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by adding at the 6 end the following: 7 ‘‘SEC. 550. INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTH CARE TEAMS FOR 8 PROVISION OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE 9 IN PRIMARY CARE SETTINGS. 10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through the 11 Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 12 Abuse, shall award grants to eligible entities for the pur- 13 pose of establishing interprofessional health care teams 14 that provide behavioral health care. 15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 16 a grant under this section, an entity shall be a Federally 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4388 IS qualified health center (as defined in section 1861(aa) of 1 the Social Security Act), rural health clinic, or behavioral 2 health program, serving a high proportion of individuals 3 from racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in sec- 4 tion 1707(g)). 5 ‘‘(c) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED.—Integrated health 6 care funded through this section shall be scientifically 7 based, taking into consideration the results of the most 8 recent peer-reviewed research available. 9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 10 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro- 11 priated $20,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years 12 following the date of enactment of the Mental Health Eq- 13 uity Act of 2020.’’. 14 SEC. 102. ADDRESSING RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY 15 MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH 16 GAPS. 17 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact- 18 ment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute 19 on Minority Health and Health Disparities shall enter into 20 an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences 21 (or, if the National Academy of Sciences declines to enter 22 into such an arrangement, an arrangement with the Insti- 23 tute of Medicine, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4388 IS Institute, the Agency for Healthcare Quality, or another 1 appropriate entity)— 2 (1) to conduct a study with respect to mental 3 health disparities in racial and ethnic minority 4 groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public 5 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g))); and 6 (2) to submit to the Congress a report on the 7 results of such study, including— 8 (A) a compilation of information on the dy- 9 namics of mental disorders in such racial and 10 ethnic minority groups; and 11 (B) a compilation of information on the 12 impact of exposure to community violence, ad- 13 verse childhood experiences, and other psycho- 14 logical traumas on mental disorders in such ra- 15 cial and minority groups. 16 SEC. 103. HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMPETENCIES TO AD- 17 DRESS RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY MEN- 18 TAL HEALTH DISPARITIES. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 20 Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary 21 for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall award grants 22 to qualified national organizations for the purposes of— 23 (1) developing, and disseminating to health pro- 24 fessional educational programs curricula or core 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4388 IS competencies addressing mental health disparities 1 among racial and ethnic minority groups for use in 2 the training of students in the professions of social 3 work, psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family 4 therapy, mental health counseling, and substance 5 abuse counseling; and 6 (2) certifying community health workers and 7 peer wellness specialists with respect to such cur- 8 ricula and core competencies and integrating and ex- 9 panding the use of such workers and specialists into 10 health care to address mental health disparities 11 among racial and ethnic minority groups. 12 (b) CURRICULA; CORE COMPETENCIES.—Organiza- 13 tions receiving funds under subsection (a) may use the 14 funds to engage in the following activities related to the 15 development and dissemination of curricula or core com- 16 petencies described in subsection (a)(1): 17 (1) Formation of committees or working groups 18 comprised of experts from accredited health profes- 19 sions schools to identify core competencies relating 20 to mental health disparities among racial and ethnic 21 minority groups. 22 (2) Planning of workshops in national fora to 23 allow for public input into the educational needs as- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4388 IS sociated with mental health disparities among racial 1 and ethnic minority groups. 2 (3) Dissemination and promotion of the use of 3 curricula or core competencies in undergraduate and 4 graduate health professions training programs na- 5 tionwide. 6 (4) Establishing external stakeholder advisory 7 boards to provide meaningful input into policy and 8 program development and best practices to reduce 9 mental health disparities among racial and ethnic 10 minority groups. 11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) QUALIFIED NATIONAL ORGANIZATION.—The 13 term ‘‘qualified national organization’’ means a na- 14 tional organization that focuses on the education of 15 students in programs of social work, psychology, 16 psychiatry, and marriage and family therapy. 17 (2) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.— 18 The term ‘‘racial and ethnic minority group’’ has the 19 meaning given to such term in section 1707(g) of 20 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 21 6(g)). 22 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4388 IS such sums as may be necessary for each of the first 5 1 fiscal years following the date of enactment of this Act. 2 SEC. 104. RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY BEHAVIORAL 3 AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDU- 4 CATION STRATEGY. 5 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 6 (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by adding at the 7 end the following new section: 8 ‘‘SEC. 553. BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH 9 AND EDUCATION STRATEGY. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 11 the Assistant Secretary, shall, in coordination with advo- 12 cacy and behavioral and mental health organizations serv- 13 ing racial and ethnic minority groups, develop and imple- 14 ment an outreach and education strategy to promote be- 15 havioral and mental health and reduce stigma associated 16 with mental health conditions and substance abuse among 17 racial and ethnic minority groups. Such strategy shall— 18 ‘‘(1) be designed to— 19 ‘‘(A) meet the diverse cultural and lan- 20 guage needs of the various racial and ethnic mi- 21 nority groups; and 22 ‘‘(B) be developmentally and age-appro- 23 priate; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4388 IS ‘‘(2) increase awareness of symptoms of mental 1 illnesses common among such groups, taking into 2 account differences within subgroups, such as gen- 3 der, gender identity, age, or sexual orientation, of 4 such groups; 5 ‘‘(3) provide information on evidence-based, cul- 6 turally and linguistically appropriate and adapted 7 interventions and treatments; 8 ‘‘(4) ensure full participation of, and engage, 9 both consumers and community members in the de- 10 velopment and implementation of materials; and 11 ‘‘(5) seek to broaden the perspective among 12 both individuals in these groups and stakeholders 13 serving these groups to use a comprehensive public 14 health approach to promoting behavioral health that 15 addresses a holistic view of health by focusing on the 16 intersection between behavioral and physical health. 17 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than 1 year 18 after the date of the enactment of this section and annu- 19 ally thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant 20 Secretary, shall submit to Congress, and make publicly 21 available, a report on the extent to which the strategy de- 22 veloped and implemented under subsection (a) increased 23 behavioral and mental health outcomes associated with 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4388 IS mental health conditions and substance abuse among ra- 1 cial and ethnic minority groups. 2 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘racial 3 and ethnic minority group’ has the meaning given to that 4 term in section 1707(g). 5 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 6 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 7 $10,000,000 for the first fiscal year following the date of 8 enactment of the Mental Health Equity Act of 2020.’’. 9 SEC. 105. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTES 10 OF HEALTH. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts otherwise 12 authorized to be appropriated to the National Institutes 13 of Health, there is authorized to be appropriated to such 14 Institutes $100,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years 15 following the date of enactment of this Act to build rela- 16 tions with communities and conduct or support clinical re- 17 search, including clinical research on racial or ethnic dis- 18 parities in physical and mental health. 19 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘clinical 20 research’’ has the meaning given to such term in section 21 409 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284d). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4388 IS SEC. 106. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTE 1 ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARI- 2 TIES. 3 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap- 4 propriated to the National Institute on Minority Health 5 and Health Disparities, there is authorized to be appro- 6 priated to such Institute $650,000,000 for each of the 7 first 5 fiscal years following the date of enactment of this 8 Act. 9 TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS 10 SEC. 201. REAUTHORIZATION OF MINORITY FELLOWSHIP 11 PROGRAM. 12 Section 597(c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 13 U.S.C. 297ll(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘$12,669,000 for 14 each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’ and inserting 15 ‘‘$25,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years following 16 the date of enactment of the Mental Health Equity Act 17 of 2020’’. 18 SEC. 202. COMMISSION ON THE EFFECTS OF SMARTPHONE 19 AND SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON ADOLESCENTS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 22 Human Services shall establish a commission, to be known 23 as the Commission on the Effects of Smartphone and So- 24 cial Media Usage on Adolescents, to examine— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4388 IS (1) the extent of smartphone and social media 1 use in schools; and 2 (2) the effects of such use on— 3 (A) the emotional and physical health of 4 students; and 5 (B) the academic performance of students. 6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 7 (1) NUMBER.—The Commission shall consist of 8 15 members appointed by the Secretary. 9 (2) COMPOSITION.—The members of the Com- 10 mission— 11 (A) shall not include any government offi- 12 cials or employees; and 13 (B) shall include representatives of aca- 14 demia, technology companies, and advocacy 15 groups. 16 (c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall authorize the 17 Commission to establish guidelines for its operation. 18 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after its estab- 19 lishment, the Commission shall submit to the Congress, 20 and make publicly available, a report on the findings and 21 conclusions of the Commission. 22 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Com- 24 mission on the Effects of Smartphone and Social 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4388.IS S4388 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4388 IS Media Usage on Adolescents established under sub- 1 section (a). 2 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 3 of Healt [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]