S.Amdt. 3444

SA 3444. Mr. BLUNT submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3378 proposed by Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Whitehouse, Mr. Portman, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Graham, Mr.
Coons, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Durbin) 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. __. TELEHEALTH GRANTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF
OPIOID ABUSE.

(a) In General.--Section 330I of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 254c-14) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, which may include
telehealth opioid abuse prevention and treatment grant
programs'' before the period;
(2) in subsection (d)(1)(A), by inserting ``, including
health care services for the prevention and treatment of
opioid abuse'' after ``health care services'';
(3) in subsection (f)(1)(B)(iii)--
(A) in subclause (IX) by inserting ``, including community
mental health centers meeting the criteria specified in
section 1913(c) and located in rural areas'' after
``outpatient mental health facilities''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(XIII) Drug abuse and opioid abuse treatment specialists.
``(XIV) Drug treatment and detoxification centers located
in rural areas, as identified by the Secretary.
``(XV) Clinics or hospitals of the Indian Health Service,
including hospitals and clinics operated by Indian tribes or
tribal organizations.''; and

(4) in subsection (k)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``, including
prevention and treatment services for opioid abuse or
addiction,'' after ``clinical telehealth services''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Telehealth opioid abuse prevention and treatment.--
The recipient of a telehealth opioid abuse prevention and
treatment grant referred to in subsection (b) may use funds
received through such grant to--
``(A) provide prevention and treatment services to rural
communities and coordinate care for individuals in such
communities receiving treatment for opioid abuse or
addiction;
``(B) provide continuing education to rural clinicians on
emerging treatment options for individuals suffering from
opioid addiction, including through the use of electronic
health records linking rural providers with specialists and
other opioid prevention and treatment experts in order to
improve health care outcomes;
``(C) provide continuing education to rural emergency
medical service providers to improve capacity to respond to
opioid overdoses;
``(D) coordinate broader clinical services for individuals
suffering from opioid addiction or recovering from such
addiction;
``(E) focus primarily on opioid prevention and addiction
services and providing other clinical services as needed in
rural settings; and
``(F) develop best practices in delivery of opioid abuse
prevention and treatment through telehealth services.''.
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