IB 

Union Calendar No. 444 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2519 

[Report No. 116–544] 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 

the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance 

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants to 

implement innovative approaches to securing prompt access to appropriate follow-on care for individuals who experience an acute mental 

health episode and present for care in an emergency department, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2019 

Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Miss RICE of New York and Mr. TRONE

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 3, 2019] 


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•HR 2519 RH

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

acting through the Director of the Center for Mental 

Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration, to award grants to implement innovative approaches to securing prompt access 

to appropriate follow-on care for individuals who experience an acute mental health episode and present for 

care in an emergency department, and for other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
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•HR 2519 RH

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 ‘‘Improving Mental 

5 Health Access from the Emergency Department Act of 

6 2020’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SECURING APPROPRIATE FOLLOW-ON CARE FOR 

8 ACUTE MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS AFTER AN 

9 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT ENCOUNTER. 

10 The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting 

11 after section 520J of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31) the fol12 lowing new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 520J–1. SECURING APPROPRIATE FOLLOW-ON CARE 

14 FOR ACUTE MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS AFTER 

15 AN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT ENCOUNTER. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 

17 on a competitive basis to qualifying health providers to im18 plement innovative approaches to securing prompt access 

19 to appropriate follow-on care for individuals who experi20 ence an acute mental health episode and present for care 

21 in an emergency department. 

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENTS.—In this section, 

23 the term ‘qualifying health provider’ means a health care 

24 facility licensed under applicable law that— 

25 ‘‘(1) has an emergency department; 


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1 ‘‘(2) is staffed by medical personnel (such as 

2 emergency physicians, psychiatrists, psychiatric reg3 istered nurses, mental health technicians, clinical so4 cial workers, psychologists, and therapists) capable of 

5 providing treatment focused on stabilizing acute men6 tal health conditions and assisting patients to access 

7 resources to continue treatment in the least restrictive 

8 appropriate setting; and 

9 ‘‘(3) has arrangements in place with other pro10 viders of care that can provide a full range of medi11 cally appropriate, evidence-based services for the 

12 treatment of acute mental health episodes. 

13 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A qualifying health provider re14 ceiving funds under this section shall use such funds to cre15 ate, support, or expand programs or projects intended to 

16 assist individuals who are treated at the provider’s emer17 gency department for acute mental health episodes and to 

18 expeditiously transition such individuals to an appropriate 

19 facility or setting for follow-on care. Such use of funds may 

20 support the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) Expediting placement in appropriate facili22 ties through activities such as expanded coordination 

23 with regional service providers, assessment, peer navi24 gators, bed availability tracking and management, 


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1 transfer protocol development, networking infrastruc2 ture development, and transportation services. 

3 ‘‘(2) Increasing the supply of inpatient psy4 chiatric beds and alternative care settings such as re5 gional emergency psychiatric facilities. 

6 ‘‘(3) Use of alternative approaches to providing 

7 psychiatric care in the emergency department setting, 

8 including through tele-psychiatric support and other 

9 remote psychiatric consultation, implementation of 

10 peak period crisis clinics, or creation of psychiatric 

11 emergency service units. 

12 ‘‘(4) Use of approaches that include proactive 

13 followup such as telephone check-ins, telemedicine, or 

14 other technology-based outreach to individuals during 

15 the period of transition. 

16 ‘‘(5) Such other activities as are determined by 

17 the Secretary to be appropriate, consistent with sub18 section (a). 

19 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—A qualifying health provider de20 siring a grant under this section shall prepare and submit 

21 an application to the Secretary at such time and in such 

22 manner as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, the 

23 application shall include the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) A description of identified need for acute 

25 mental health services in the provider’s service area. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A description of the existing efforts of the 

2 provider to meet the need for acute mental health 

3 services in the service area, and identified gaps in the 

4 provision of such services. 

5 ‘‘(3) A description of the proposed use of funds 

6 to meet the need and gaps identified pursuant to 

7 paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(4) A description of how the provider will co9 ordinate efforts with Federal, State, local, and private 

10 entities within the service area. 

11 ‘‘(5) A description of program objectives, how the 

12 objectives are proposed to be met, and how the pro13 vider will evaluate outcomes relative to objectives. 

14 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

15 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

16 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 444 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2519 

[Report No. 116–544] 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human 

other purposes. for care in an emergency department, and for ence an acute mental health episode and present priate follow-on care for individuals who experiproaches to securing prompt access to approtion, to award grants to implement innovative apAbuse and Mental Health Services Administrater for Mental Health Services of the Substance Services, acting through the Director of the CenSEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Reported with an amendment; committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS