I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1685 
To authorize the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, 
acting through the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treat-
ment, to award grants to States to expand access to clinically appropriate 
services for opioid abuse, dependence, or addiction. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2021 
Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To authorize the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
Substance Use, acting through the Director of the Center 
for Substance Abuse Treatment, to award grants to 
States to expand access to clinically appropriate services 
for opioid abuse, dependence, or addiction. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Opportuni-
ties for Recovery Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. OPIOID ADDICTION TREATMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for Men-
tal Health and Substance Use, acting through the Direc-
tor of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’) shall 
award grants to States to expand access to clinically ap-
propriate services for opioid abuse, dependence, or addic-
tion. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—As conditions on the receipt of 
a grant under this section, a State shall agree to comply 
with the following: 
(1) The grant will be administered through the 
head of the State’s primary agency responsible for 
programs and activities relating to the treatment of 
substance abuse. 
(2) The services through the grant will be evi-
dence-based such as medication-assisted treatment 
for substance use disorder. 
(3) The services through the grant will be pro-
vided according to a physician or a clinician’s rec-
ommendation to ensure that individuals receive the 
optimal level of substance use disorder treatment for 
the amount of time that is deemed medically nec-
essary. 
(4) The services through the grant will be pro-
vided exclusively to individuals— 
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(A) who lack health insurance; or 
(B) whose health insurance— 
(i) does not cover such services; or 
(ii) places other barriers on the re-
ceipt of such services, such as— 
(I) limiting coverage of such serv-
ices to a certain period of time; or 
(II) 
imposing 
nonquantitative 
treatment limitations that are more 
stringent than treatment limitations 
imposed on other medical conditions 
(such as a requirement to use less ex-
pensive services, like outpatient treat-
ment, prior to more expensive, but 
physician-recommended services, such 
as inpatient or residential treatment). 
(5) The grant will not be used to pay or sub-
sidize the cost of more than 60 consecutive days of 
opioid abuse, dependence, or addiction treatment in 
the case of any individual. 
(c) PERMISSIBLE PROVISION OF MEDICATIONS.—In 
expanding access to clinically appropriate services for 
opioid abuse, dependence, or addiction through a grant 
under this section, a State may provide for the use of 
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medications, in conjunction with other treatment, so long 
as the medications— 
(1) are lawfully marketed under the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et 
seq.); 
(2) are clinically indicated to address the abuse, 
dependence, or addiction; and 
(3) are offered consistent with consumer choice. 
(d) COORDINATION.—The Assistant Secretary shall 
coordinate the program under this section with the pro-
gram for prevention and treatment of substance abuse 
under subpart II of part B of title XIX of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–21 et seq.). 
(e) EVALUATION; DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION; 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 
shall— 
(A) require States receiving a grant under 
this section to report appropriate outcome 
measures associated with use of the grant, in-
cluding any— 
(i) decreases in substance use; 
(ii) changes in retention in care; 
(iii) connections to the next appro-
priate level of care; 
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(iv) decreases in involvement with 
criminal justice activities; and 
(v) other outcome data as appropriate; 
(B) require States receiving a grant under 
this section to report data on individuals’ length 
of time under clinically appropriate addiction 
treatment, and the use of medication-assisted 
treatment; 
(C) evaluate the activities supported by 
grants under this section; 
(D) submit to the Congress and the Sec-
retary, and make publicly available on the inter-
net site of the Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration, information 
about the results of such evaluation; and 
(E) offer technical assistance to States re-
ceiving a grant under this section regarding ac-
tivities funded through the grant. 
(2) USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS.—Of the funds ap-
propriated to carry out this section for any fiscal 
year, 5 percent shall be available to carry out activi-
ties under this subsection. 
Æ 
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