Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act

Summary: Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide coordination and assistance to regional poison control centers for the establishment of a nationwide toll-free phone number to be used to access such centers. Authorizes appropriations, prohibiting use of the funds to fund any privately funded nationwide toll-free phone number used to provide advice and other assistance for poisonings or accidental exposures. Directs the Secretary to establish a national media campaign to educate the public about poison prevention and the availability of local poison control resources and to conduct advertising campaigns concerning the nationwide toll-free number.  Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to award grants for certified regional poison control centers to achieve financial stability and to prevent, and provide treatment recommendations for, poisoning.  Mandates other grant uses.  Sets forth center certification requirements.  Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Poison Control Center Enhancement 
and Awareness Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Each year more than 2,000,000 poisonings are reported to 
    poison control centers throughout the United States. More than 90 
    percent of these poisonings happen in the home. Fifty-three percent 
    of poisoning victims are children younger than 6 years of age.
        (2) Poison control centers are a valuable national resource 
    that provide life-saving and cost-effective public health services. 
    For every dollar spent on poison control centers, $7 in medical 
    costs are saved. The average cost of a poisoning exposure call is 
    $32, while the average cost if other parts of the medical system 
    are involved is $932. Over the last 2 decades, the instability and 
    lack of funding has resulted in a steady decline in the number of 
    poison control centers in the United States. Within just the last 
    year, 2 poison control centers have been forced to close because of 
    funding problems. A third poison control center is scheduled to 
    close in April 1999. Currently, there are 73 such centers.
        (3) Stabilizing the funding structure and increasing 
    accessibility to poison control centers will increase the number of 
    United States residents who have access to a certified poison 
    control center, and reduce the inappropriate use of emergency 
    medical services and other more costly health care services.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide coordination and 
assistance to regional poison control centers for the establishment of 
a nationwide toll-free phone number to be used to access such centers.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as prohibiting the establishment or continued operation of 
any privately funded nationwide toll-free phone number used to provide 
advice and other assistance for poisonings or accidental exposures.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $2,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2000 through 2004. Funds appropriated under this 
subsection shall not be used to fund any toll-free phone number 
described in subsection (b).

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a national media 
campaign to educate the public and health care providers about poison 
prevention and the availability of poison control resources in local 
communities and to conduct advertising campaigns concerning the 
nationwide toll-free number established under section 4.
    (b) Contract With Entity.--The Secretary may carry out subsection 
(a) by entering into contracts with 1 or more nationally recognized 
media firms for the development and distribution of monthly television, 
radio, and newspaper public service announcements.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $600,000 for each of the fiscal 
years 2000 through 2004.

SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF A GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Regional Poison Control Centers.--The Secretary shall award 
grants to certified regional poison control centers for the purposes of 
achieving the financial stability of such centers, and for preventing 
and providing treatment recommendations for poisonings.
    (b) Other Improvements.--The Secretary shall also use amounts 
received under this section to--
        (1) develop standard education programs;
        (2) develop standard patient management protocols for commonly 
    encountered toxic exposures;
        (3) improve and expand the poison control data collection 
    systems;
        (4) improve national toxic exposure surveillance; and
        (5) expand the physician/medical toxicologist supervision of 
    poison control centers.
    (c) Certification.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the 
Secretary may make a grant to a center under subsection (a) only if--
        (1) the center has been certified by a professional 
    organization in the field of poison control, and the Secretary has 
    approved the organization as having in effect standards for 
    certification that reasonably provide for the protection of the 
    public health with respect to poisoning; or
        (2) the center has been certified by a State government, and 
    the Secretary has approved the State government as having in effect 
    standards for certification that reasonably provide for the 
    protection of the public health with respect to poisoning.
    (d) Waiver of Certification Requirements.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary may grant a waiver of the 
    certification requirement of subsection (c) with respect to a 
    noncertified poison control center or a newly established center 
    that applies for a grant under this section if such center can 
    reasonably demonstrate that the center will obtain such a 
    certification within a reasonable period of time as determined 
    appropriate by the Secretary.
        (2) Renewal.--The Secretary may only renew a waiver under 
    paragraph (1) for a period of 3 years.
    (e) Supplement Not Supplant.--Amounts made available to a poison 
control center under this section shall be used to supplement and not 
supplant other Federal, State, or local funds provided for such center.
    (f) Maintenance of Effort.--A poison control center, in utilizing 
the proceeds of a grant under this section, shall maintain the 
expenditures of the center for activities of the center at a level that 
is not less than the level of such expenditures maintained by the 
center for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the 
grant is received.
    (g) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may impose a matching 
requirement with respect to amounts provided under a grant under this 
section if the Secretary determines appropriate.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $25,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.