zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to treat as a physician, for Medicare purposes, a clinical psychologist acting within the scope of a psychologist's license (or other state law authorization), but only with respect to the furnishing of clinical psychologists services which the psychologist is legally authorized to perform by the state.

Date: 2013-02-15
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), as part of the pediatric quality measures program and the Medicaid Quality Measurement Program (MQMP), to: (1) review certain quality measures endorsed under the Medicare program that relate to the care of childbearing women and newborns, particularly with respect to their application to the programs under SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP), identifying omissions and deficiencies in such applications; (2) develop and publish a set of maternity care quality measures for the Medicaid and CHIP programs in accordance with specified requirements; and (3) review the Mother and Infant Care (MIC) quality measures and develop, on an ongoing basis, any modifications of, or additions to, them that reflect the development, testing, validation, and consensus process.

Directs the Secretary to enter into grants, contracts, or intergovernmental agreements with qualified measure development entities to: (1) identify quality of care issues that are not adequately addressed by the MIC quality measures; and (2) develop, test, and validate modifications of such measures.

Requires a qualified measure development entity with such a grant, contract, or intergovernmental agreement to consult with voluntary consensus standards setting organizations and other organizations involved in the advancement of evidence-based measures of health to create, as part of the MIC quality measures, eMeasures (for which measurement data, including clinical data, will be collected electronically) aligned with the measures developed under the pediatric quality measures program and the MQMP. Requires the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to adapt the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems program surveys of providers, facilities, and health plans to ensure that the adapted surveys are effective in measuring aspects of care that childbearing women and newborns experience.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to support: (1) the development of new state and regional maternity care quality collaboratives; (2) expanded activities of existing maternity care quality collaboratives; and (3) maternity care initiatives within established state and regional quality collaboratives that are not focused exclusively on maternity care.

Date: 2013-02-28
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Requires any physical evaluation board within the Department of Defense (DOD) that will consider issues related to post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or other mental health condition of a member or former member of the Armed Forces to include a behavioral health professional (BHP) as a board member.

Requires the BHP to serve in lieu of the medical member of such board unless, as a result of the health-related issues before the board, the board would benefit from the presence of both the BHP and the medical member.

Date: 2013-03-18
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Mental Health Empowerment Act - Directs the Secretaries of the military departments to ensure that information concerning the availability of mental health services to members of the Armed Forces (members), as well as privacy rights related to the receipt of such services, is provided to: (1) each officer candidate during initial training, (2) each recruit during basic training, and (3) each other member at such time as the Secretary of Defense (DOD) considers appropriate.

Requires each department Secretary to: (1) seek to eliminate perceived stigma associated with seeking and receiving mental health services, and (2) promote the use of such services on a basis comparable to the use of other medical and health services.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the above information is also provided to current members, including members of the reserve components.

Date: 2013-04-10
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Examining America's Mental Health Services Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine (or, if the Institute declines to enter into such an arrangement, another appropriate entity) to conduct a comprehensive study on gaps in mental health services and how these gaps can increase the risk of violent acts.

Requires the study to include consideration of: (1) gaps in mental health treatment services for adults and children with severe and persistent mental illness; (2) barriers to receiving mental health services that result in high rates of untreated mental illness, and (3) the availability of interventions such as assisted outpatient treatment designed to reach individuals with untreated severe mental illness.

Date: 2013-04-18
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act - Makes any veteran who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during 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 a period of hostilities, eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any mental illness through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the mental illness is attributable to such service.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal the exclusion from medical assistance under the Medicaid program of items and services for patients in an institution for mental diseases.

Date: 2013-07-19
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) 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.

Date: 2013-12-05
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Youth Mental Health Research Act - Authorizes the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to: (1) provide for the establishment of a Youth Mental Health Research Network for the conduct or support of youth mental health research and intervention services; and (2) carry out this Act by acting through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (the Director) in collaboration with other national research institutes and centers that conduct youth mental health research.

Authorizes the Director to award cooperative agreements, grants, and contracts to governments and private nonprofit entities for: (1) conducting research to meet unmet needs for 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.

Limits: (1) the number of entities that may be awarded support to 70; and (2) the duration of such support to 5 years, subject to an extension. Requires the Director to ensure that an appropriate number of awards 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 of therapies for, or approaches to, the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of early severe mental illness in a community setting; (3) disseminate scientific findings; and (4) adhere to the guidelines, protocols, and practices used in the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS) and the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) initiative.

Requires the Director to: (1) establish a data coordinating center, (2) require the center to provide regular reports on research conducted, and (3) incorporate information reported into the Director of NIH's biennial reports.

Date: 2014-03-06
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Ensuring Veterans' Resiliency Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay loans used to finance education regarding psychiatric medicine that are obtained from a governmental entity, private financial institution, school, or other authorized entity.

Requires an individual, to be eligible to obtain such a loan repayment, to: (1) be either licensed (or eligible for licensure) to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine that is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; and (2) demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the VHA, including through a period of obligated service. Directs the Secretary to select at least 10 individuals to participate in each year of the program.

 Allows a loan repayment to consist of payment of the principal, interest, and related expenses of such a loan. Prohibits the Secretary from paying more than $60,000 on behalf of the individual for each year of obligated service the individual agrees to serve.

Makes an individual who participates in the pilot program who fails to satisfy the service commitment liable for prorated loan repayment.

Prohibits an individual who is participating in any other federal program that repays his or her educational loans from participating in the program under this Act.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study of pay disparities among VHA psychiatrists.

Date: 2014-03-13
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
DoD Suicide Tracking Act of 2014 - Requires the the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to prescribe, and the Secretaries of the military departments and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and the adjutants general to implement, a policy for the development of a standard method for collecting, reporting, and assessing suicide data and suicide-attempt data involving members of the National Guard and Reserves.

Requires the DOD Secretary to direct the Secretary of each military department to develop and implement a program to track, retain, and analyze information regarding suicides involving dependents of members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces.

Date: 2014-04-28
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Creating Options for Veterans Expedited Recovery Act or the COVER Act - Establishes the Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission to:

 examine the efficacy of the evidence-based therapy model used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for treating mental health illnesses of veterans and identify areas to improve wellness-based outcomes; conduct a patient-centered survey within each of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks to examine the experience of veterans with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when seeking medical assistance for mental health issues through the VA health care system, their experience with non-VA facilities and health professionals for such issues, their preferences regarding available treatments for such issues and which methods they believe to be most effective, their experience with complementary alternative treatment therapies, the prevalence of prescribing prescription medication among veterans seeking treatment through the VA health care system to address mental health issues, and the Secretary's outreach efforts regarding the availability of benefits and treatments for such issues; examine available research on complementary alternative treatment therapies for mental health issues (including music, yoga, and meditation therapy) and identify what benefits could be made with the inclusion of such treatments for veterans; and study the potential increase in the approval by the Secretary of claims for compensation relating to mental health issues for veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Directs the Secretary, upon a report by the Commission, to submit: (1) an action plan for implementing recommendations and a time frame for implementing complementary alternative treatments, or (2) a justification for not doing so and an alternative solution to improve the efficacy of the therapy model.

Date: 2014-06-26
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and revise a research, training, and technical assistance resource center to prevent suicides (the Suicide Prevention Resource Center). Expands the program's focus from youth suicides to suicides among all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide. Repeals authority for grants to establish research, training, and technical assistance centers related to mental health, substance abuse and the justice system.

Reauthorizes a program of grants for the development of state or tribal youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies.

Reauthorizes and revises a grant program to enhance services for students with mental health or substance use disorders at institutions of higher education. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (who currently is merely authorized), acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, to award grants to enhance such services and to develop best practices for the delivery of such services. Permits grant funds to be used for the provision of such services to students and to employ appropriately trained staff. Requires the Secretary to give special consideration to applications for grants that describe programs that demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional mental and substance use disorder services and the greatest potential for replication.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Mental Health First Aid Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), to award grants to initiate and sustain mental health first aid training programs. Requires such a program to include: (1) core live training courses on the skills, resources, and knowledge necessary to assist individuals in crisis to connect with appropriate local mental health care services; (2) training on mental health resources, including the location of community mental health centers in the state and local community; and (3) training on action plans and protocols for referral to such resources.

States that the Secretary shall determine the categories of individuals to be trained.

Requires such programs to train individuals to accomplish: (1) safe de-escalation of crisis situations, (2) recognition of the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and (3) timely referral to mental health services in the early stages of developing mental disorders.

Requires the Secretary, in awarding grants, to: (1) ensure that grants are equitably distributed among the geographical regions of the United States, and (2) pay particular attention to the mental health training needs of populations and target audiences residing in rural areas.

Date: 2013-01-24
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Excellence in Mental Health Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to set forth criteria for the certification of federally-qualified community behavioral health centers. Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to certify, and recertify at least every five years, federally qualified community behavioral health centers as meeting the criteria.

Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to make such centers eligible for payments for services under Medicaid.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award matching grants to states or Indian tribes to expend funds for the construction or modernization of facilities used to provide community-based mental health and substance abuse services to individuals.

Date: 2013-02-07
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Community-Based Mental Health Infrastructure Improvements Act - Amends Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award matching grants to states or Indian tribes to expend funds for the construction or modernization of facilities used to provide community-based mental health and substance abuse services to individuals.

Date: 2013-02-07
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Ruth Moore Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), in any case in which a veteran claims that a covered mental health condition was incurred in or aggravated by military sexual trauma during active duty, to accept as sufficient proof of service-connection a diagnosis by a mental health professional together with satisfactory lay or other evidence of such trauma and an opinion by the mental health professional that such condition is related to such trauma, if consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of such service, notwithstanding the fact that there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation in such service, and to resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran. Allows such service-connection to be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.

Includes as a "covered mental health condition" post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health diagnosis that the Secretary determines to be related to military sexual trauma.

Requires the Secretary to report annually to Congress in each of 2014 through 2018 on covered claims submitted.

Date: 2013-02-13
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2013 - 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.

Date: 2013-03-14
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Veterans Mental Health Treatment First Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a program of mental health care and rehabilitation for veterans who: (1) have been discharged or released from active-duty service under conditions other than dishonorable for no more than two years; (2) are enrolled in the VA system of annual patient enrollment and were so enrolled before the date of enactment of this Act; (3) are diagnosed by a VA physician with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, or substance use disorder that is service-related (as determined by the Secretary or a VA physician); and (4) agree to certain participation conditions, including not submitting a claim for veterans' disability compensation for any such condition until either one year after program commencement or the conclusion of the prescribed treatment regimen.

Requires the Secretary to provide for each participant a treatment regimen and rehabilitation plan for the determined condition.

Provides a stipend for participants, commencing upon program commencement, continuing through successful treatment and plan compliance, and ending either upon the conclusion of such treatment or one year after treatment and plan commencement. Allows a veteran to participate more than once in the program if the Secretary determines that the additional participation will assist the veteran in achieving the remediation of the condition.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medicare Mental Health Access Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to treat as a physician, for Medicare purposes, a clinical psychologist acting within the scope of a psychologist's license (or other state law authorization), but only with respect to the furnishing of clinical psychologists services which the psychologist is legally authorized to perform by the state.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Positive Aging Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to public and private nonprofit entities to: (1) demonstrate ways of integrating mental health services for older adults into primary care settings, and (2) support the establishment and maintenance of interdisciplinary geriatric mental health outreach teams in community settings where older adults reside or receive social services.

Requires the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services to designate a Deputy Director for Older Adult Mental Health Services to develop and implement initiatives to address the mental health needs of older adults.

Includes representatives of older adults or their families and geriatric mental health professionals on the Advisory Council for the Center.

Directs the Secretary to give special consideration to providing treatment for older adults with substance abuse disorders when developing program priorities for addressing priority substance abuse treatment needs of regional and national significance.

Requires state plans for community mental health services grants to describe: (1) the state's outreach to, and services for, older individuals, individuals who are homeless, and individuals living in rural areas; and (2) how community-based services will be provided to these individuals.

Date: 2013-06-07
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Mental Health Support for Veteran Families and Caregivers Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) enter into contracts to conduct a 4-year program (with authorization for a 4-year extension) to provide a course of education to family members and caregivers of veterans on matters relating to coping with veterans' mental health disorders; (2) carry out such program in at least 10 VA medical centers, 10 VA clinics, and 10 centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans (vet centers); (3) expand such program (within 2 years) to include at least 10 additional medical centers, clinics, and vet centers; and (4) select VA mental health care providers to monitor the progress of the instruction provided under such education program.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to provide peer support to family members and caregivers of veterans on matters relating to coping with veterans mental health disorders; (2) provide such peer support, through group meetings conducted at least twice each calendar quarter, at each facility in which the education program is provided; (3) select an individual who has completed the education program to serve as a peer support coordinator for each facility; and (4) select a VA mental health care provider to serve as a mentor to each coordinator.

Directs the Secretary to conduct a survey of the satisfaction of program participants.

Date: 2013-10-28
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Suicide Prevention Research INnovaTion Act or the SPRINT Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the National Institute of Mental Health to use funds made available by this Act exclusively for the purpose of conducting and supporting: (1) research on the determinants of self-directed and other violence in mental illness, including studies designed to reduce the risk of self-harm, suicide, and interpersonal violence, especially in rural communities with a shortage of mental health services; and (2) brain research through the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

Date: 2014-02-24
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act of 2014 - Expands eligibility for the family caregiver program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include members of the Armed Forces or veterans who are seriously injured or who became ill on active duty prior to September 11, 2001 (currently, limited to service after September 11, 2001). Expands services to caregivers of veterans under such program to include child care services, financial planning services, and legal services.

Authorizes the transfer of entitlement to post 9/11 education assistance to family members by veterans who are retired for a physical disability or who are seriously injured veterans in need of family caregiver services, without regard to length-of-service requirements.

Authorizes the VA Secretary to pay monthly special compensation to seriously injured or ill veterans in need of personal care services and to their caregivers. Excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, such compensation paid to injured or ill veterans.

Authorizes flexible work schedules or telework for federal employees who are caregivers of veterans.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to designate a veteran participating in the program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers as an adult with a special need for purposes of the lifespan respite care program.

Establishes in the executive branch an interagency working group to review and report on policies relating to the caregivers of veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

Directs the Secretary to provide for studies on members of the Armed Forces who commenced service after September 11, 2001, and veterans who have incurred a serious injury or illness, including a mental health injury, and their caregivers.

Date: 2014-04-10
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Caring for Military Children with Developmental Disabilities Act of 2014 - Includes in the treatment of military dependents' developmental disabilities under the Department of Defense (DOD) TRICARE program behavioral health treatment, including applied behavior analysis, that is prescribed by a physician or psychologist.

Allows such behavioral health treatment to be provided only to the extent that amounts are appropriated in advance for such treatment to a Defense Dependents Developmental Disabilities Account.

Establishes in the Treasury the Defense Dependents Developmental Disabilities Account, which is to be separate from the DOD's Defense Health Program Account.

Authorizes appropriations for, and transfers funds to, the Defense Dependents Developmental Disabilities Account.

Date: 2014-05-14
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ensuring Veterans' Resiliency Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the loans used to finance the education expenses related to psychiatric medicine of certain individuals who demonstrate a commitment to long-term careers as psychiatrists in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Requires those individuals to be: (1) licensed or eligible for licensure to practice psychiatric medicine in the VHA, or (2) enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine that is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Directs the Secretary to select at least 10 individuals each year to participate in the program.

Requires program participants to agree to a period of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine. Prohibits the Secretary from paying more than $60,000 on behalf of an individual for each year of obligated service the individual agrees to serve.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study of pay disparities among VHA psychiatrists.

Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a pilot program providing a monthly housing allowance to individuals who: (1) are health care providers, (2) are or agree to become VHA employees on a full-time basis in a health care position designated by the Secretary, and (3) accept an assignment in such position for at least 36 months at a rural or highly rural community-based outpatient clinic selected by the Secretary.

Provides bonus housing allowances to participants who complete the 36 months of service and to those who complete additional one-year or two-year terms of service.

Date: 2014-06-04
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Creating Options for Veterans Expedited Recovery Act or the COVER Act

Establishes the Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission to examine the evidence-based therapy treatment model used by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for treating mental health conditions of veterans and the potential benefits of incorporating complementary alternative treatments available in non-VA facilities and study the potential increase in claims relating to mental health issues submitted by veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation New Dawn.

Directs the VA, upon a report by the Commission, to submit: (1) an action plan for implementing recommendations and a time frame for implementing complementary alternative treatments, or (2) a justification for any determination that a recommendation is not appropriate and an alternative solution to improve the efficacy of the therapy model.

Date: 2015-01-12
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Examining America's Mental Health Services Act of 2015

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine (or, if the Institute declines to enter into such an arrangement, another appropriate entity) to conduct a comprehensive study on gaps in mental health services and how these gaps can increase the risk of violent acts.

Requires the study to include consideration of: (1) gaps in mental health treatment services for adults and children with severe and persistent mental illness, (2) barriers to receiving mental health services that result in high rates of untreated mental illness, and (3) the availability of interventions such as assisted outpatient treatment designed to reach individuals with untreated severe mental illness.

Date: 2015-02-10
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Mental Health in Schools Act of 2015

Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise a community children and violence program to assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services, including by: (1) revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; and (2) providing for comprehensive school mental health programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-informed, and age appropriate. Requires a comprehensive school mental health program funded under this Act to assist children in dealing with trauma and violence. Makes only a partnership between a local educational agency and at least one community program or agency that is involved in mental health eligible for funding.

 Requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating grant program activities, including the development of: (1) guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) outcome measures to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, including student and family measures and local educational measures.

Date: 2015-03-03
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act

This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to make a veteran eligible for mental health care at a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility regardless of:

 the date on which the veteran enrolled in the VA health care system, whether the veteran has attempted to schedule an appointment for such care at a VA facility, or the location of the veteran's residence.

Date: 2015-03-25
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Mental Health First Aid Act of 2016

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend through FY2021 training grants for mental health awareness. The bill makes additional categories of individuals eligible to be trained to identify and respond to individuals with a mental illness. Programs funded by these grants must provide education on: (1) recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and (2) either the availability of relevant resources or safe de-escalation of crisis situations involving individuals with a mental illness.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act

Prohibits, in any case arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, any person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness from being considered adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of the right to receive or transport firearms without the order or finding of a judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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.

Date: 2015-04-30
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
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.

Date: 2015-06-11
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
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.

Date: 2015-06-12
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
(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.

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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.

Date: 2015-10-02
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
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.

Date: 2015-10-08
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Health
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.

Date: 2015-10-08
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
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.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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.

Date: 2015-11-19
Topic: Health (Mental)
Subject: Armed forces and national security