Title: Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act of 2017
This bill amends the 21st Century Cures Act to alter the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration opioid grant program for states. Specifically, the bill alters the criteria for the award of grants by prioritizing states with an increasingly high rate of opioid-use disorders and a comparatively high prevalence of opioid-use disorder adverse health effects and per capita overdose mortality rates.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4190 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4190

      To amend the 21st Century Cures Act to ensure the equitable 
distribution of resources to address the opioid epidemic, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 31, 2017

   Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire (for herself and Mr. Jenkins of West 
  Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the 21st Century Cures Act to ensure the equitable 
distribution of resources to address the opioid epidemic, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THE OPIOID 
              EPIDEMIC.

    (a) In General.--The second sentence in paragraph (1) of section 
1003(c) of the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-255; 42 U.S.C. 
290ee-3 note) is amended by striking ``States with an incidence or 
prevalence of opioid use disorders that is substantially higher 
relative to other States.'' and inserting ``States--''
                    ``(A) with an incidence or prevalence of opioid use 
                disorders and associated adverse health effects, 
                including neonatal abstinence syndrome, that are 
                substantially higher relative to other States;
                    ``(B) in which the incidence rate of opioid use 
                disorders, or the opioid-related drug overdose 
                mortality rate, is substantially higher than what such 
                rate was during the year immediately preceding the year 
                in which such grants are awarded; and
                    ``(C) with a per capita prescription opioid, 
                heroin, or synthetic opioid overdose mortality rate 
                that is substantially higher relative to other 
                States.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The first sentence in paragraph (1) of 
section 1003(c) of the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-255; 42 
U.S.C. 290ee-3 note) is amended by striking ``in accordance with 
subparagraph (B)'' and inserting ``in accordance with paragraph (2)''.
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