jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-04-30 00:00:00

Enhancing Veterans' Access to Treatment Act of 2015

Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish to a veteran enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system a drug or medicine that a duly licensed physician has determined such veteran is taking or has taken during the preceding 90 days and that has been effective in treating a mental health disorder with which the veteran has been diagnosed, if the prescription is ordered by a duly licensed physician, regardless of whether such drug or medicine is available under the formulary in use by the VA.

Directs the VA to revise its prescription medication formulary to ensure that all medications within the classes of antipsychotics and antidepressants that are prescribed by DOD physicians, including such medications prescribed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, are available at all VA pharmacies.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act or the TREAT Act

 Amends the Controlled Substances Act to increase the number of patients that a qualifying practitioner dispensing narcotic drugs for maintenance or detoxification treatment is initially allowed to treat from 30 to 100 patients per year.

Allows a qualifying physician, after one year, to request approval to treat an unlimited number of patients under specified conditions, including that he or she: (1) agrees to fully participate in the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program of the state in which the practitioner is licensed, (2) practices in a qualified practice setting, and (3) has completed at least 24 hours of training regarding treatment and management of opiate-dependent patients for substance use disorders provided by specified organizations.

Revises the definition of a "qualifying practitioner" to include: (1) a physician who holds a board certification from the American Board of Addiction Medicine; and (2) a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant who is licensed under state law to prescribe schedule III, IV, or V medications for pain, who has specified training or experience that demonstrates specialization in the ability to treat opiate-dependent patients, who practices under the supervision of, or prescribes opioid addiction therapy in collaboration with, a licensed physician who holds an active waiver to prescribe schedule III, IV, or V narcotic medications for opioid addiction therapy, and who practices in a qualified practice setting.

Directs the Comptroller General to initiate an evaluation of the effectiveness of this Act, including an evaluation of: (1) changes in the availability and use of medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, (2) the quality of medication-assisted treatment programs, (3) diversion of opioid addiction treatment medication, and (4) changes in state or local policies and legislation relating to opioid addiction treatment.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-06-11 00:00:00

Youth Mental Health Research Act

This bill authorizes the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to establish a Youth Mental Health Research Network for the conduct or support of youth mental health research and intervention services.

The NIMH may award cooperative agreements, grants, and contracts to governments and private nonprofit entities for: (1) conducting youth mental health research or training for researchers in youth mental health research techniques; (2) providing youth mental health intervention services; and (3) collaborating with NIMH to build on the scientific findings and clinical techniques of earlier programs, studies, and demonstration projects.

A number of these awards must go to entities that agree to: (1) focus primarily on the early detection and intervention of severe mental illness in young people; (2) conduct or coordinate multisite clinical trials for the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of early severe mental illness in a community setting and rapidly disseminate their findings; and (3) adhere to the guidelines, protocols, and practices used in the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study and the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode initiative.

The NIMH must establish a data coordinating center to assist awardees and distribute scientific findings generated by awardees.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-06-12 00:00:00

Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2015

 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), particularly those provided in rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and in hospice programs.

Amends Medicare part E (Miscellaneous) to exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.

Authorizes marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-06-25 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on December 3, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify: (1) VA mental health care and suicide prevention programs that are most effective for women veterans, and (2) those programs with the highest satisfaction rates among women veterans.

(Sec. 3) It is the sense of Congress that veterans who experience combat-related mental health wounds should have immediate and consistent access to comprehensive mental health care.

 The VA shall:

 establish standards and procedures to ensure that each covered veteran may access VA mental health care in a manner that fully accommodates the veteran's obligation to not improperly disclose classified information; and disseminate guidance to Veterans Health Administration employees, including mental health professionals, regarding these standards and procedures. "Covered veteran" means a veteran who: (1) is enrolled in the VA health care system; (2) is seeking mental health treatment; and (3) in the course of serving in the Armed Forces participated in a sensitive (classified) mission or served in a sensitive unit primarily involved in training for the conduct of, or conducting, special activities or classified missions.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-10-02 00:00:00

Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act

This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to: (1) extend the emergency psychiatric demonstration project, which allows eligible states to provide payment for medical assistance to certain psychiatric institutions under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; and (2) eliminate certain limitations on federal funding for the project.

Provided that an eligible state's participation is projected not to increase net Medicaid program spending: (1) a state that is already participating in the project may continue to do so through FY2016, and (2) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may allow a participating state or a new eligible state to participate in the project through 2019.

HHS must submit recommendations to Congress regarding whether the project should be further extended or expanded.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-10-08 00:00:00

Improving Access to Mental Health Act

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for clinical social worker services, (2) exclude clinical social worker services from the prospective payment system in which predetermined amounts form the basis for payment under Medicare, and (3) alter the definition of “clinical social worker services” as it relates to Medicare.

Under current law, “clinical social worker services”: (1) include services performed for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, and (2) exclude services furnished to an inpatient of a skilled nursing facility as a condition of the facility's participation in the Medicare program. The bill repeals these provisions and instead specifies that such services include certain types of health behavior assessment and intervention.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Date: 2015-10-08 00:00:00

Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015

This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants for: (1) mental health programs and related law enforcement and corrections programs, (2) state compliance with federal mental health records requirements, (3) court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment, (4) pretrial screening and supervision, (5) behavioral health assessments and intervention, (6) forensic assertive community treatment, and (7) the establishment of a National Criminal Justice and Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center.

In addition, the bill expands the purposes for which grant funds may be used under existing programs related to: (1) public safety and community policing, (2) staffing for adequate fire and emergency response, (3) school security, and (4) residential substance abuse treatment for inmates.

DOJ must establish a pilot program to determine the effectiveness of diverting eligible offenders to drug or mental health courts.

Each of the federal uniformed services must be provided specialized mental health training.

With respect to an existing grant program for drug treatment alternatives to incarceration, the bill revises program requirements and expands the program to also cover mental health treatment alternatives.

Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015

DOJ is further authorized to award grants: (1) for sequential intercept mapping, which is aimed at minimizing criminal justice involvement for individuals with mental illness; (2) for various programs related to the behavioral health of veterans; (3) to assist correctional facilities in addressing the needs of inmates with mental illness; and (4) to train law enforcement in responding to situations involving individuals with mental illness.

The bill revises the definition of "preliminarily qualified offenders" who must be targeted by certain grant-funded collaboration programs between mental health and justice agencies.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 and revises the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.

Current law prohibits the sale or disposition of a firearm or ammunition to any person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution. The bill instead prohibits such a sale or disposition to any person who has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hospital, as defined by the bill.

The bill also establishes: (1) procedures for administrative review of a determination that a person has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hospital, and (2) conditions for removal of records from NICS.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 the following: (1) adult and juvenile collaboration programs, and (2) mental health courts and qualified drug treatment programs.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-05 00:00:00

Honoring our Returning Veterans and Service Members Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop jointly a methodology that identifies which members of the Armed Forces and veterans are at high risk of suicide.

DOD and the VA shall use this information to: (1) identify which units that were deployed in support of a post-September 11, 2001, contingency operation have a disproportionately high rate of suicide and suicide attempts, and (2) provide additional mental health preventative and treatment resources for veterans who were so deployed.

The use of such information is restricted.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-19 00:00:00

Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act

This bill makes any veteran who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during specified conflicts eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any mental illness through the Department of Veterans Affairs, notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the mental illness is attributable to such service.

The conflicts specified include World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom, or any other period of war after the Persian Gulf War, or in combat against a hostile force during any period of hostilities.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-12-16 00:00:00

Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act of 2015

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and Internal Revenue Code to direct the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury to require group health plans and health insurers to disclose the analyses performed to ensure compliance of plans or coverage with the law and regulations. Disclosures must include findings and conclusions regarding whether nonquantitative treatment limitations (e.g., tiered benefits, step therapy, or preauthorization) applied to mental health or substance use disorder benefits are comparable to, and applied no more stringently than, such limitations on medical and surgical benefits.

HHS, Labor, and Treasury must: (1) issue guidance on the process for current and potential participants and beneficiaries to file formal complaints of plans or insurers being in violation of the requirement for parity between mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical and surgical benefits, (2) conduct audits of plans and insurers to determine compliance with parity requirements and publish information from those audits, and (3) publish information on denials of claims by plans and insurers for mental health and substance use disorder services compared to denials of claims for medical and surgical services.

HHS must establish a consumer parity portal website that allows for submission of complaints and provides information to consumers on parity.

The Government Accountability Office must report on HHS, Labor, and Treasury efforts to enforce parity.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-01-07 00:00:00

Coordinating Crisis Care Act

This bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to award grants to states for real-time, Internet-based bed registries that provide information about beds in inpatient psychiatric facilities, crisis stabilization units, residential community mental health treatment facilities, and residential substance abuse treatment facilities to facilitate the identification of space for the temporary treatment of an individual in psychiatric or substance abuse crisis.

A bed registry must: (1) describe and provide contact information for every relevant facility in the state; (2) provide real-time information about the number of beds available at each facility and, for each available bed, provide the type of patient that may be admitted, the level of security provided, and any other information that may be necessary to identify an appropriate facility for an individual in crisis; and (3) allow specified users to search the registry for an appropriate and available bed for an individual in crisis.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-01-12 00:00:00

Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to award grants to institutions of higher education to provide and improve mental and behavioral health services, conduct research regarding improving the mental health of students, and expand outreach and training on college and university campuses.

SAMHSA must give special consideration to programs that: (1) demonstrate the greatest need, (2) propose effective approaches for initiating or expanding campus services, (3) target underserved and at-risk populations, (4) coordinate with a community mental health center or other community mental health resources, (5) identify how the college or university will address psychiatric emergencies, (6) propose innovative practices to improve care or prevention programs, and (7) demonstrate the greatest potential for replication and dissemination.

SAMHSA must convene an interagency, public-private sector working group to plan, establish, and begin coordinating and evaluating a targeted public education campaign that is designed to focus on mental and behavioral health on college and university campuses.

The Department of Health and Human Services must establish the College Campus Task Force to discuss mental and behavioral health concerns on college and university campuses.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-02-09 00:00:00

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Veteran Peer Support program to make grants to eligible entities for peer-to-peer mental health programs for veterans.

"Eligible entity" means: (1) a nonprofit organization having historically served the mental health needs of veterans; (2) a congressionally chartered veteran service organization; or (3) a state, local, or tribal veteran service agency, director, or commissioner.

The VA shall establish an advisory committee to create appropriate program standards.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-02-12 00:00:00

Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act of 2016

This bill amends the Promoting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 to increase, from 8 to 24, the number of states that may be selected to participate in Medicaid demonstration programs to improve community mental health services.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-02-12 00:00:00

Extend Excellence in Mental Health Act of 2016

This bill amends the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 to extend and expand the Medicaid community mental health services demonstration program. Under current law, the program is limited to no more than eight states.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall extend an existing program and may expand the number of programs if, with respect to the requesting state, CMS determines that: (1) the state's participation in the program will measurably improve access to, and participation in, specified behavioral health services; and (2) the state is in full compliance with specified reporting requirements.

The bill also specifies that, for purposes of implementing specified CMS guidance on demonstration program testing, a "clinical visit" includes on-site behavioral health services, certain community services, and telehealth services.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-03-03 00:00:00

Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a program to provide former members of the Armed Forces with: (1) an initial mental health assessment; and (2) health care services required to treat the former member's urgent mental health care needs, including risk of suicide or harming others.

 A former member of the Armed Forces is an individual who meets either of the following criteria:

 the individual is a former member of the Armed Forces, including the reserve components, who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and was discharged or released under a condition less than honorable (except a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge by reason of a general court martial), has applied for a character of service determination that has not yet been made, and is not otherwise eligible to enroll in the VA health care system by reason of such discharge or release; or the individual is a veteran not otherwise eligible for VA health care. The VA may provide such mental health care services pursuant to a contract with a qualified mental health professional if: (1) the receipt of mental health care services by an individual in VA facilities would be clinically inadvisable, or (2) VA facilities are not capable of furnishing such mental health care services to that individual economically because of geographical inaccessibility.

The VA shall seek to enter into a contract with an independent nongovernmental entity to study the effect combat service has had on suicide rates and serious mental health issues among veterans.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-04-29 00:00:00

Protection and Advocacy for Veterans Act

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a five-year grant program to improve the monitoring of VA mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.

The VA shall award a grant to four protection and advocacy systems under which each recipient shall investigate and monitor VA facilities care and treatment of veterans with mental illness or substance abuse issues. Criteria for selecting recipients shall include whether the state in which the protection and advocacy system operates has low mental health, performance, and access scores.

During each year in which a protection and advocacy system carries out a demonstration project, the VA shall award a joint grant to a national organization with extensive knowledge of the protection and advocacy system and a veterans service organization to: (1) coordinate training and technical assistance, and (2) provide for related data collection, reporting, and analysis.

 "Protection and advocacy system" means the state-established system to protect and advocate the rights of persons with developmental disabilities.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-04-29 00:00:00

This bill provides that persons with a degree that is equivalent to a master's degree in mental health counseling shall be eligible for appointment to a Department of Veterans Affairs licensed professional mental health counselor position.
Topic: Health — Mental
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-05-13 00:00:00

Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop and implement an outreach and education strategy to promote behavioral and mental health and reduce stigma associated with mental health conditions and substance abuse among the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations.