TREAT Long COVID Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3258 To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities for creating or enhancing capacity to treat patients with Long COVID through a multidisciplinary approach. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2023 Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BEYER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. PORTER, Ms. CHU, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. BERA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. OMAR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BUSH, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. TRONE, and Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities for creating or en- hancing capacity to treat patients with Long COVID through a multidisciplinary approach. 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 23:47 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3258.IH H3258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3258 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Targeting Resources 2 for Equitable Access to Treatment for Long COVID Act’’ 3 or the ‘‘TREAT Long COVID Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT MULTIDISCI- 5 PLINARY LONG COVID CLINICS. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 7 of Health and Human Services (in this section referred 8 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall award grants on a competitive 9 basis to eligible entities for the purpose of creating or en- 10 hancing capacity to treat patients with Long COVID (also 11 referred to as Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID–19 and 12 post-COVID conditions) and its associated conditions 13 through a multidisciplinary approach. 14 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 15 grant under this section shall use the grant, for the pur- 16 pose described in subsection (a), to— 17 (1) enhance the capacity of one or more exist- 18 ing multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics to serve 19 the Long COVID population; or 20 (2) create one or more multidisciplinary clinics 21 to address the physical and mental health needs of 22 Long COVID patients. 23 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 24 grant under this section, an entity shall be a health care 25 provider, Federally qualified health center (as defined in 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3258.IH H3258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3258 IH section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1 1395x(aa))), rural health clinic, urban Indian health cen- 2 ter, or State or local public health department, that— 3 (1)(A) operates an existing multidisciplinary 4 Long COVID clinic or other specialized Long 5 COVID program; or 6 (B) demonstrates an intent to create a multi- 7 disciplinary Long COVID clinic or other specialized 8 Long COVID program; and 9 (2) submits to the Secretary an application at 10 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 11 formation and assurances as the Secretary may re- 12 quire. 13 (d) EQUITABLE ACCESS.—In order to ensure equi- 14 table access treatment— 15 (1) no grantee under this section shall deny ac- 16 cess to treatment with respect to Long COVID 17 based on insurance coverage, date or method of di- 18 agnosis, preexisting conditions, or previous hos- 19 pitalization; 20 (2) a grantee under this section shall with re- 21 spect to Long COVID— 22 (A) offer equity-centered resources, infor- 23 mation, and training to safety net health sys- 24 tems; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3258.IH H3258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3258 IH (B) disseminate best practices and treat- 1 ment approaches that enhance access to high- 2 quality care to everyone where they live; and 3 (3) treatment for Long COVID shall be in- 4 cluded as a COVID–19 treatment, consistent with 5 the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 6 117–2). 7 (e) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant award- 8 ed under this section shall not exceed $2,000,000. 9 (f) GRANT PERIOD.—The period of a grant under 10 this section shall be up to three years, with an opportunity 11 for renewal. 12 (g) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection 13 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 14 that— 15 (1) submit a plan to engage with Long COVID 16 patient organizations, medically underserved commu- 17 nities, and populations disproportionately impacted 18 by COVID–19, in a degree sufficient to advance 19 health care equity in Long COVID treatment and 20 outcomes; 21 (2) demonstrate capacity (or an intent to build 22 capacity) to facilitate patient access to multidisci- 23 plinary health care providers with expertise in treat- 24 ing Long COVID and its associated conditions, as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3258.IH H3258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3258 IH well as other infection-associated chronic conditions, 1 including such providers who are primary and spe- 2 cialty care physicians capable of comprehensive, sys- 3 temic care, such as psychiatrists, neurologists, cardi- 4 ologists, immunologists, pulmonologists, therapists, 5 nurses, care coordinators, social workers, nutrition- 6 ists, and behavioral health specialists; and 7 (3) submit a plan to ensure ongoing multidisci- 8 plinary continuing education on infection-triggered 9 conditions for— 10 (A) physicians treating Long COVID and 11 its associated conditions; and 12 (B) other physicians and health care work- 13 ers who are not treating Long COVID, but are 14 otherwise serving patients in the community. 15 (h) REPORTS.— 16 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS BY GRANTEES TO SEC- 17 RETARY.—On an annual basis, a recipient of a grant 18 under this section shall— 19 (A) submit to the Secretary, and make 20 publicly available, a report on the activities car- 21 ried out through the grant; and 22 (B) include quantitative and qualitative 23 evaluations of such activities, including the ex- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3258.IH H3258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3258 IH perience of individuals who received health care 1 through such grant. 2 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS BY SECRETARY TO CON- 3 GRESS.—Not later than the end of each of fiscal 4 years 2023 through 2025, the Secretary shall submit 5 to the Congress, and make publicly available, a re- 6 port that— 7 (A) summarizes the reports received under 8 paragraph (1); 9 (B) evaluates the effectiveness of grants 10 under this section; and 11 (C) makes recommendations with respect 12 to expanding coverage for clinical care for Long 13 COVID and its associated conditions. 14 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 15 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 16 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 17 2024 through 2026. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3258.IH H3258 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB