II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2055 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to better address substance use 

and substance use disorders among young people. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2017 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to better address 

substance use and substance use disorders among young 

people. 

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 ‘‘Youth Opioid Use 

5 Treatment Help Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘YOUTH Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREAT2 MENT SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, ADOLES3 CENTS, AND YOUNG ADULTS. 

4 Section 514 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 290bb–7) is amended— 

6 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘CHIL7 DREN AND ADOLESCENTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CHIL8 DREN, ADOLESCENTS, AND YOUNG ADULTS’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘children, 

10 including’’ and inserting ‘‘children, adolescents, and 

11 young adults, including’’; and 

12 (3) by striking ‘‘children and adolescents’’ each 

13 place it appears and inserting ‘‘children, adolescents, 

14 and young adults’’. 

15 SEC. 3. ACCESS TO MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT 

16 FOR ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS 

17 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agen20 cy for Healthcare Research and Quality (in this section 

21 referred to as the ‘‘Director’’), shall award grants to eligi22 ble entities to establish demonstration programs to— 

23 (1) expand access to medication-assisted treat24 ment for opioid use disorders among adolescents and 

25 young adults; 


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1 (2) identify and test solutions for overcoming 

2 barriers to implementation of medication-assisted 

3 treatment for adolescents and young adults; or 

4 (3) create and distribute resources on medica5 tion-assisted treatment training and implementation 

6 for providers of health care to children, adolescents, 

7 and young adults. 

8 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

9 grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

10 (1) be a State, political subdivision of a State, 

11 Indian tribe, or tribal organization, professional fam12 ily medicine provider organization, professional pedi13 atric provider organization or other organization 

14 representing providers of health care to children, 

15 adolescents, and young adults, professional addiction 

16 medicine provider organization, hospital, an institu17 tion of higher education, or other appropriate public 

18 or nonprofit institution; and 

19 (2) certify that it is in compliance with all ap20 plicable registration and licensing requirements. 

21 (c) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec22 tion, an entity shall submit to the Director an application 

23 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor24 mation as the Director may require. 


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1 (d) DURATION.—An eligible entity may receive funds 

2 under this section to carry out a demonstration program 

3 described in this section for a period of not greater than 

4 3 years. After the first year for which funding is provided 

5 to an eligible entity for a demonstration program, funding 

6 may be provided under this section for a subsequent year 

7 for such program only upon review of such program by 

8 the Director and approval by the Director of such subse9 quent year of funding. 

10 (e) REPORTS.— 

11 (1) BY GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Each eligible enti12 ty awarded a grant under this section for a dem13 onstration program shall submit to the Director 

14 progress reports on such demonstration program at 

15 such times, in such manner, and containing such in16 formation as the Director may require. 

17 (2) BY DIRECTOR.—Not later than one year 

18 after the date on which all demonstration programs 

19 funded under this section have been completed, the 

20 Director shall submit to the Committee on Health, 

21 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and 

22 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

23 House of Representatives a report that— 

24 (A) describes the availability of medication25 assisted treatment for adolescents and young 


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1 adults with opioid use disorders in the United 

2 States, including barriers to such treatment; 

3 (B) describes the specific demonstration 

4 programs carried out pursuant to this section; 

5 (C) evaluates the effectiveness of such pro6 grams; 

7 (D) evaluates any unintended consequences 

8 of such programs; and 

9 (E) provides recommendations for ensuring 

10 that medication-assisted treatment is accessible 

11 to adolescents and young adults with opioid use 

12 disorders. 

13 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) The phrase ‘‘adolescents and young adults’’ 

15 means individuals who have attained 10 years of age 

16 and not yet attained 26 years of age. 

17 (2) The term ‘‘medication-assisted treatment’’ 

18 means the combination of pharmacological treat19 ments approved by the Food and Drug Administra20 tion, and counseling and behavioral therapies, for 

21 the treatment of substance use disorders. 

22 (3) The term ‘‘opioid use disorder’’ means a 

23 problematic pattern of opioid use leading to clinically 

24 significant impairment or distress occurring within a 

25 12-month period. 


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1 (4) The term ‘‘pediatric health care provider’’ 

2 means a provider of health care to individuals who 

3 have attained 10 years of age and not yet attained 

4 26 years of age. 

5 (5) The term ‘‘professional family medicine pro6 vider organization’’ means a national organization 

7 whose members consist primarily of family medicine 

8 providers. 

9 (6) The term ‘‘professional pediatric provider 

10 organization’’ means a national organization whose 

11 members consist primarily of pediatric health care 

12 providers. 

13 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out this 

15 section. 

Æ 


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