I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2376 

To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for increased 

oversight of recovery housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2021 

Mr. TRONE (for himself, Ms. CHU, Mr. LEVIN of California, and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide 

for increased oversight of recovery housing, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Excellence in Recovery 

5 Housing Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2376 IH

1 SEC. 2. CLARIFYING THE ROLE OF SAMHSA IN PROMOTING 

2 THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY RECOV3 ERY HOUSING. 

4 Section 501(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 290aa) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (24)(E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at 

9 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(26) collaborate with national accrediting enti12 ties and reputable providers and analysts of recovery 

13 housing services and all relevant Federal agencies, 

14 including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv15 ices, the Health Resources and Services Administra16 tion, other offices and agencies within the Depart17 ment of Health and Human Services, the Office of 

18 National Drug Control Policy, the Department of 

19 Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban De20 velopment, and the Department of Agriculture, to 

21 promote the availability of high-quality recovery 

22 housing for individuals with a substance use dis23 order.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2376 IH

1 SEC. 3. DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO PRO2 MOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY 

3 RECOVERY HOUSING. 

4 Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

5 by inserting after section 550 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 290ee–5) the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 550A. DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO 

8 PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUAL9 ITY RECOVERY HOUSING. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

11 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 

12 through the Assistant Secretary, shall develop, and pub13 lish on the internet website of the Substance Abuse and 

14 Mental Health Services Administration, consensus-based 

15 guidelines and nationally recognized standards for States 

16 to promote the availability of high-quality recovery hous17 ing for individuals with a substance use disorder. Such 

18 guidelines shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) be developed in consultation with national 

20 accrediting entities, reputable providers and analysts 

21 of recovery housing services, and States and be con22 sistent with the best practices developed under sec23 tion 550; and 

24 ‘‘(2) to the extent practicable, build on existing 

25 best practices and suggested guidelines developed 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2376 IH

1 previously by the Substance Abuse and Mental 

2 Health Services Administration. 

3 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—Before finalizing 

4 guidelines under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health 

5 and Human Services shall provide for a public comment 

6 period. 

7 ‘‘(c) EXCLUSION OF GUIDELINE ON TREATMENT

8 SERVICES.—In developing the guidelines under subsection 

9 (a), the Secretary may not include any guideline or stand10 ard with respect to substance use disorder treatment serv11 ices. 

12 ‘‘(d) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT SERV13 ICES.—In this section, the term ‘substance use disorder 

14 treatment services’ means items or services furnished for 

15 the treatment of a substance use disorder, including— 

16 ‘‘(1) medications approved by the Food and 

17 Drug Administration for use in such treatment, ex18 cluding each such medication used to prevent or 

19 treat a drug overdose; 

20 ‘‘(2) the administering of such medications; 

21 ‘‘(3) recommendations for such treatment; 

22 ‘‘(4) clinical assessments and referrals; 

23 ‘‘(5) counseling with a physician, psychologist, 

24 or mental health professional (including individual 

25 and group therapy); and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2376 IH

1 ‘‘(6) toxicology testing.’’. 

2 SEC. 4. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO PRO3 MOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY 

4 RECOVERY HOUSING. 

5 Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 290ee–5) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and 

8 (g) as subsections (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO

12 PROMOTE THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY RECOV13 ERY HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A SUBSTANCE

14 USE DISORDER.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

16 through the Assistant Secretary, and the Secretary 

17 of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop18 ment shall convene and serve as the co-chairs of an 

19 interagency working group composed of representa20 tives of each of the Federal agencies described in 

21 paragraph (2) (referred to in this section as the 

22 ‘working group’) for the following purposes: 

23 ‘‘(A) To increase collaboration, coopera24 tion, and consultation among such Federal 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2376 IH

1 agencies, with respect to promoting the avail2 ability of high-quality recovery housing. 

3 ‘‘(B) To align the efforts of such agencies 

4 and avoid duplication of such efforts by such 

5 agencies. 

6 ‘‘(C) To develop objectives, priorities, and 

7 a long-term plan for supporting State, Tribal, 

8 and local efforts with respect to the operation 

9 of high-quality recovery housing that is con10 sistent with the best practices developed under 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(D) To coordinate inspection and enforce13 ment among Federal and State agencies. 

14 ‘‘(E) To coordinate data collection on the 

15 quality of recovery housing. 

16 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The 

17 Federal agencies described in this paragraph are the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Department of Health and 

20 Human Services. 

21 ‘‘(B) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

22 Services. 

23 ‘‘(C) The Substance Abuse and Mental 

24 Health Services Administration. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2376 IH

1 ‘‘(D) The Health Resources and Services 

2 Administration. 

3 ‘‘(E) The Indian Health Service. 

4 ‘‘(F) The Department of Housing and 

5 Urban Development. 

6 ‘‘(G) The Department of Agriculture. 

7 ‘‘(H) The Department of Justice. 

8 ‘‘(I) The Office of National Drug Control 

9 Policy. 

10 ‘‘(J) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

11 ‘‘(K) The Department of Labor. 

12 ‘‘(L) Any other Federal agency as the co13 chairs determine appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The working group shall 

15 meet on a quarterly basis. 

16 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Beginning not 

17 later than one year after the date of the enactment 

18 of this section and annually thereafter, the working 

19 group shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

20 Commerce, the Committee on Ways and Means, the 

21 Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on 

22 Financial Services of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

24 and Pensions, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri25 tion, and Forestry, and the Committee on Finance 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2376 IH

1 of the Senate a report describing the work of the 

2 working group and any recommendations of the 

3 working group to improve Federal, State, and local 

4 policy with respect to recovery housing operations. 

5 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 

7 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 

8 fiscal years 2022 through 2027.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. NAS STUDY AND REPORT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary 

13 for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall enter into an 

14 arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, 

15 Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study, which may 

16 include a literature review and case studies as appropriate, 

17 on— 

18 (1) the quality and effectiveness of recovery 

19 housing in the United States, including the avail20 ability in the United States of high-quality recovery 

21 housing and whether that availability meets the de22 mand for such housing in the United States; and 

23 (2) State, Tribal, and local regulation and over24 sight of recovery housing. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2376 IH

1 (b) TOPICS.—The study under subsection (a) shall 

2 include a literature review of studies that— 

3 (1) examine the quality of, and effectiveness 

4 outcomes for, the types and characteristics of cov5 ered recovery housing programs listed in subsection 

6 (c); and 

7 (2) identify the research and data gaps that 

8 must be filled to better report on the quality of, and 

9 effectiveness outcomes related to, covered recovery 

10 housing. 

11 (c) TYPE AND CHARACTERISTICS.—The types and 

12 characteristics of covered recovery housing programs re13 ferred to in subsection (b) consist of the following: 

14 (1) Nonprofit and for-profit covered recovery 

15 housing. 

16 (2) Private and public covered recovery housing. 

17 (3) Covered recovery housing programs that 

18 provide services to— 

19 (A) residents on a voluntary basis; and 

20 (B) residents pursuant to a judicial order. 

21 (4) Number of clients served, disaggregated to 

22 the extent possible by covered recovery housing serv23 ing— 

24 (A) 6 or fewer recovering residents; 

25 (B) 10 to 13 recovering residents; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2376 IH

1 (C) 18 or more recovering residents. 

2 (5) Bedroom occupancy in a house, 

3 disaggregated to the extent possible by— 

4 (A) single room occupancy; 

5 (B) 2 residents occupying 1 room; and 

6 (C) more than 2 residents occupying 1 

7 room. 

8 (6) Duration of services received by clients, 

9 disaggregated to the extent possible according to 

10 whether the services were— 

11 (A) 30 days or fewer; 

12 (B) 31 to 90 days; 

13 (C) more than 90 days and fewer than 6 

14 months; or 

15 (D) 6 months or more. 

16 (7) Certification levels of staff. 

17 (8) Fraudulent and abusive practices by opera18 tors of covered recovery housing and inpatient and 

19 outpatient treatment facilities, both individually and 

20 in concert, including— 

21 (A) deceptive or misleading marketing 

22 practices, including— 

23 (i) inaccurate outcomes-based mar24 keting; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2376 IH

1 (ii) marketing based on non-evidence2 based practices; 

3 (B) illegal patient brokering; 

4 (C) third-party recruiters; 

5 (D) deceptive or misleading marketing 

6 practices of treatment facility and recovery 

7 housing online aggregators; and 

8 (E) the impact of such practices on health 

9 care costs and recovery rates. 

10 (d) REPORT.—The arrangement under subsection (a) 

11 shall require, by not later than 18 months after the date 

12 of entering into the agreement— 

13 (1) completing the study under such subsection; 

14 and 

15 (2) making publicly available (including through 

16 publication on the internet) a report that contains— 

17 (A) the results of the study; 

18 (B) the National Academy’s recommenda19 tions for Federal, State, and local policies to 

20 promote the availability of high-quality recovery 

21 housing in the United States; 

22 (C) research and data gaps; 

23 (D) recommendations for recovery housing 

24 quality and effectiveness metrics; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2376 IH

1 (E) recommended mechanisms to collect 

2 data on those metrics, including with respect to 

3 research and data gaps; 

4 (F) recommendations to eliminate restric5 tions by recovery housing that exclude individ6 uals who take prescribed medications for opioid 

7 use disorder; and 

8 (G) a summary of allegations, assertions, 

9 or formal legal actions on the State and local 

10 levels by governments and nongovernmental or11 ganizations with respect to the opening and op12 eration of recovery housing. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 (1) The term ‘‘covered recovery housing’’ means 

15 recovery housing that utilizes compensated or volun16 teer onsite staff who are not health care profes17 sionals to support residents. 

18 (2) The term ‘‘effectiveness outcomes’’ may in19 clude decreased substance use, reduced probability of 

20 relapse or reoccurrence, lower rates of incarceration, 

21 higher income, increased employment, and improved 

22 family functioning. 

23 (3) The term ‘‘health care professional’’ means 

24 an individual who is licensed or otherwise authorized 

25 by the State to provide health care services. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2376 IH

1 (4) The term ‘‘recovery housing’’ means a 

2 shared living environment that is or purports to 

3 be— 

4 (A) free from alcohol and use of nonpre5 scribed drugs; and 

6 (B) centered on connection to services that 

7 promote sustained recovery from substance use 

8 disorders. 

9 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

10 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

11 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

12 SEC. 6. FILLING RESEARCH AND DATA GAPS. 

13 Not later than 60 days after the completion of the 

14 study under section 5, the Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services shall enter into an agreement with an ap16 propriate entity to conduct such research as may be nec17 essary to fill the research and data gaps identified in re18 porting pursuant to such section. 

19 SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE THE AVAIL20 ABILITY OF HIGH QUALITY RECOVERY HOUS21 ING. 

22 Section 550 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 290ee–5), as amended by section 4, is further 

24 amended by inserting after subsection (e) (as inserted by 

25 section 4) the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2376 IH

1 ‘‘(f) GRANTS FOR IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL RECOV2 ERY HOUSING BEST PRACTICES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

4 grants to States (and political subdivisions thereof), 

5 Tribes, and territories— 

6 ‘‘(A) for the provision of technical assist7 ance by national accrediting entities and rep8 utable providers and analysts of recovery hous9 ing services to implement the guidelines, nation10 ally recognized standards, and recommendations 

11 developed under section 3 of the Excellence in 

12 Recovery Housing Act and this section; and 

13 ‘‘(B) to promote the availability of high14 quality recovery housing for individuals with a 

15 substance use disorder and practices to main16 tain housing quality long term. 

17 ‘‘(2) STATE ENFORCEMENT PLANS.—Beginning 

18 not later than 90 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this paragraph and every 2 years thereafter, 

20 as a condition on the receipt of a grant under para21 graph (1), each State (or political subdivisions there22 of), Tribe, or territory receiving such a grant shall 

23 submit to the Secretary, and make publicly available 

24 on a publicly accessible Internet website of the State 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2376 IH

1 (or political subdivisions thereof), Tribe, or terri2 tory— 

3 ‘‘(A) the plan of the State (or political sub4 divisions thereof), Tribe, or territory, with re5 spect to the promotion of high-quality recovery 

6 housing for individuals with a substance use 

7 disorder located within the jurisdiction of such 

8 State (or political subdivisions thereof), Tribe, 

9 or territory; and 

10 ‘‘(B) a description of how such plan is con11 sistent with the best practices developed under 

12 this section and guidelines developed under sec13 tion 550A. 

14 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF ACCREDITING ENTITIES.—The 

15 Secretary shall periodically review, by developing a 

16 rubric to evaluate accreditation, the accrediting enti17 ties providing technical assistance pursuant to para18 graph (1)(A). 

19 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 To carry out this subsection, there is authorized to 

21 be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

22 2023 through 2027.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2376 IH

1 SEC. 8. REPUTABLE PROVIDERS AND ANALYSTS OF RECOV2 ERY HOUSING SERVICES DEFINITION. 

3 Section 550(h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 290ee–5(i)), as redesignated by section 4, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) The term ‘reputable providers and analysts 

7 of recovery housing services’ means recovery housing 

8 service providers and analysts that— 

9 ‘‘(A) use evidence-based approaches; 

10 ‘‘(B) act in accordance with guidelines 

11 issued by the Assistant Secretary; 

12 ‘‘(C) have not been found guilty of health 

13 care fraud, patient brokering, or false adver14 tising by the Department of Justice, the De15 partment of Health and Human Services, or a 

16 Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; 

17 ‘‘(D) have not been found to have violated 

18 Federal, State, or local codes of conduct with 

19 respect to recovery housing for individuals with 

20 a substance use disorder; and 

21 ‘‘(E) do not employ individuals with a past 

22 conviction of criminal, domestic, or sexual vio23 lence, or significant drug distribution, in the 

24 care or supervision of individuals.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2376 IH

1 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

2 Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 290aa et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating section 550 (relating to 

5 Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams) (42 

6 U.S.C. 290ee–10), as added by section 8214 of Pub7 lic Law 115–271, as section 550B; and 

8 (2) moving such section so it appears after sec9 tion 550A (added by section 3 of this Act). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS