S.Amdt. 3437

SA 3437. Mr. FRANKEN (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 524, to
authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national
epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. ESTABLISHING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE
DISORDER CURRICULUM.

(a) In General.--Subpart I of part C of title VII of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293K et seq.) is amended
by inserting after section 747A, the following:

``SEC. 747B. ESTABLISHING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE
DISORDER CURRICULUM.

``(a) Support and Development of Mental Health and
Substance Use Disorder Training Programs.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may make grants to, or
enter into contracts with, a school of medicine or
osteopathic medicine, a nursing school, a physician assistant
training program, a school of pharmacy, an accredited public
or nonprofit private hospital, or a public or private
nonprofit entity which the Secretary has determined is
capable of carrying out such grant or contract to establish,
maintain, or improve--
``(A) academic units or programs that include content and
clinical experiences related to mental health and substance
use disorder fields, with a special focus on addiction;
``(B) programs that enhance interdisciplinary recruitment,
training, and faculty development for the purposes of
improving clinical teaching and research in mental health and
substance use disorder fields, including addiction;
``(C) programs that develop, assess, and disseminate
evidence-based practices for the design of academic units,
training programs, and faculty development initiatives in
mental health and substance use disorder fields, including
addiction; and
``(D) recommendations for medical education curriculum
content standards regarding mental health and substance
abuse, including addiction, to ensure that medical students
are able to recognize, diagnose, and treat mental health and
substance use disorders.
``(2) Partnership required.--To be eligible to receive a
grant or contract under paragraph (1), an entity shall enter
into a partnership with a medical education accrediting
organization (such as the Liaison Committee on Medical
Education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education, the Commission on Osteopathic College
Accreditation, the Accreditation Commission For Education in
Nursing, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, or the
accreditation review commission on education for the
physician assistant).
``(b) Preference in Making Awards Under This Section.--In
making awards of grants and contracts under subsection
(a)(1), the Secretary shall give preference to any qualified
applicant for such an award that agrees to expend the award
for the purpose of--
``(1) establishing academic units or programs in mental
health and substance use disorder fields, including addiction
medicine; or
``(2) substantially expanding such units or programs.
``(c) Priorities in Making Awards.--In awarding grants or
contracts under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give
priority to qualified applicants that--
``(1) have a record of training the greatest percentage of
mental health and substance use disorder providers, including
addiction providers, who enter and remain in these fields;
``(2) have a record of training the greatest percentage of
providers, or that have demonstrated significant improvements
in the percentage of providers trained, who enter and remain
in settings with integrated primary and mental health and
substance use disorder health care service, or have a record
of establishing multidisciplinary addiction medicine
fellowship training programs;
``(3) have a record of training individuals who are from
underrepresented minority groups, including native
populations, or from a rural or disadvantaged background;
``(4) provide training in the care of vulnerable
populations such as children, pregnant and post-partum women,
older adults, homeless individuals, victims of abuse or
trauma, and other groups as defined by the Secretary;
``(5) teach trainees the skills to provide
interprofessional, integrated care through collaboration
among health professionals; or
``(6) provide training in cultural competency and health
literacy.
``(d) Duration of Awards.--The period during which payments
are made to an entity from an award of a grant or contract
under this section shall be 5 years.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of
carrying out this section, there are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal
years 2018 through 2022.''.
(b) Increasing Transparency Regarding Graduate Medical
Education on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.--Not
later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall submit to Congress a report that
describes the activities that hospitals receiving funding
under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) have underway to
promote interdisciplinary care teams and provide training for
all medical residents, medical students, and faculty in
mental health and substance abuse disorders, including
addiction medicine.
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