S. 1893 — what changed
Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015
From Reported in Senate to Engrossed in Senate. 3 sections amended and 1 added between Reported in Senate and Engrossed in Senate.
Sec. 2 Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act reauthorization
Suicide prevention technical assistance center— Section 520C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–34) is amended—
in the section heading, by striking the section heading and inserting “Suicide prevention technical assistance center.”;
in subsection (a), by striking “and in consultation with” and all that follows through the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting “shall establish a research, training, and technical assistance resource center to provide appropriate information, training, and technical assistance to States, political subdivisions of States, federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, institutions of higher education, public organizations, or private nonprofit organizations regarding the prevention of suicide among all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide.”;
by striking subsections (b) and (c);
by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (b);
in subsection (b), as so redesignated—
by striking the subsection heading and inserting “Responsibilities of the center.”;
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “The additional research” and all that follows through “nonprofit organizations for” and inserting “The center established under subsection (a) shall conduct activities for the purpose of”;
by striking “youth suicide” each place such term appears and inserting “suicide”;
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “the development or continuation of” and inserting “developing and continuing”; and
by inserting “for all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide” before the semicolon at the end;
in paragraph (2), by inserting “for all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide” before the semicolon at the end;
in paragraph (3), by inserting “and tribal” after “statewide”;
in paragraph (5), by inserting “and prevention” after “intervention”;
in paragraph (8), by striking “in youth”;
in paragraph (9), by striking “and behavioral health” and inserting “health and substance use disorder”; and
in paragraph (10), by inserting “conducting” before “other”; and
by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
changed
“(c) Authorization of appropriations—For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.”2020.
added “(d) Annual report—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the activities carried out by the center established under subsection (a) during the year involved, including the potential impacts of such activities, and the States, organizations, and institutions that have worked with the center.”
Youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies— Section 520E of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36) is amended—
in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) and in subsection (c), by striking “substance abuse” each place such term appears and inserting “substance use disorder”;
in subsection (b)(2)—
by striking “each State is awarded only 1 grant or cooperative agreement under this section” and inserting “a State does not receive more than 1 grant or cooperative agreement under this section at any 1 time”; and
by striking “been awarded” and inserting “received”; and
added
in subsection (g)(2), by striking “2 years after the date of enactment of this section,” and insert “2 years after the date of enactment of the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015,”.
renumbered
was (3)(5)
by striking subsection (m) and inserting the following:
added “(m) Authorization of appropriations—For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.”
removed
“(m) Authorization of appropriations—For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $23,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.”
Mental health and substance use disorder services— Section 520E–2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36b) is amended—
in the section heading, by striking “and behavioral health” and inserting “health and substance use disorder”;
in subsection (a)—
by striking “Services,” and inserting “Services and”;
by striking “and behavioral health problems” and inserting “health or substance use disorders”; and
by striking “substance abuse” and inserting “substance use disorders”;
in subsection (b)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “for—” and inserting “for one or more of the following:”; and
by striking paragraphs (1) through (6) and inserting the following:
“(1) Educating students, families, faculty, and staff to increase awareness of mental health and substance use disorders.
“(2) The operation of hotlines.
“(3) Preparing informational material.
“(4) Providing outreach services to notify students about available mental health and substance use disorder services.
“(5) Administering voluntary mental health and substance use disorder screenings and assessments.
“(6) Supporting the training of students, faculty, and staff to respond effectively to students with mental health and substance use disorders.
“(7) Creating a network infrastructure to link colleges and universities with health care providers who treat mental health and substance use disorders.”
in subsection (c)(5), by striking “substance abuse” and inserting “substance use disorder”;
in subsection (d)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “An institution of higher education desiring a grant under this section” and inserting “To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an institution of higher education”;
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “and behavioral health” and inserting “health and substance use disorder”; and
by inserting “, including veterans whenever possible and appropriate,” after “students”; and
in paragraph (2), by inserting “, which may include, as appropriate and in accordance with subsection (b)(7), a plan to seek input from relevant stakeholders in the community, including appropriate public and private entities, in order to carry out the program under the grant” before the period at the end;
in subsection (e)(1), by striking “and behavioral health problems” and inserting “health and substance use disorders”;
in subsection (f)(2)—
by striking “and behavioral health” and inserting “health and substance use disorder”; and
by striking “suicide and substance abuse” and inserting “suicide and substance use disorders”; and
in subsection (h), by striking “$5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “$6,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.”.
Sec. 5 Assessing barriers to behavioral health integration
In general— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives concerning Federal requirements that impact access to treatment of mental health and substance use disorders related to integration with primary care, administrative and regulatory issues, quality measurement and accountability, and data sharing.
Contents— The report submitted under subsection (a) shall include the following:
An evaluation of the administrative or regulatory burden on behavioral health care providers.
The identification of outcome and quality measures relevant to integrated health care, evaluation of the data collection burden on behavioral health care providers, and any alternative methods for evaluation.
An analysis of the degree to which electronic data standards, including interoperability and meaningful use includes behavioral health measures, and an analysis of strategies to address barriers to health information exchange posed by part 2 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations.
An analysis of the degree to which Federal rules and regulations for behavioral and physical health care are aligned, including recommendations to address any identified barriers.
added
An analysis of the challenges to behavioral health and primary care integration faced by providers in rural areas.
Sec. 10 GAO study on Virginia Tech recommendations
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an independent evaluation, and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report concerning the status of implementation of recommendations made in the report to the President, On Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy, by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Education and the Attorney General of the United States, submitted to the President on June 13, 2007.
Content— The report submitted to the committees of Congress under subsection (a) shall review and assess—
the extent to which the recommendations in the report that include participation by the Department of Health and Human Services were implemented;
whether there are any barriers to implementation of such recommendations; and
changed
identification of any additional actions the Federal Government government can take to support States and local communities and ensure that the Federal Government government and Federal law are not obstacles to addressing at the community level—
school violence; and
mental illness.
Sec. 11 Performance metrics
added
added
Evaluation of current programs—
added
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services shall conduct an evaluation of the impact of activities related to the prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
added
Assessment of performance metrics— The evaluation conducted under paragraph (1) shall include an assessment of the use of performance metrics to evaluate activities carried out by entities receiving grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements related to mental illness or substance use disorders under title V or title XIX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 300w et seq.).
added
Recommendations— The evaluation conducted under paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for the use of performance metrics to improve the quality of programs related to the prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders.
added
Use of performance metrics— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, shall advance, through existing programs, the use of performance metrics, taking into consideration the recommendations under subsection (a)(3), to improve programs related to the prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders.