115th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To establish a Federal Coordinator within the Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes.
November 7, 2017
Mr. Latta (for himself, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Barton, and Mr. Johnson of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To establish a Federal Coordinator within the Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Indexing Narcotics, Fentanyl, and Opioids Act of 2017” or the “INFO Act”.
SEC. 2. Establishment of Federal Coordinator.
(a) In general.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall appoint a Federal Coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out the duties described in subsection (b).
(b) Duties.—The Federal Coordinator shall—
(1) coordinate programs within the Department of Health and Human Services that relate to opioid abuse reduction;
(2) serve as a liaison to State and local governments and entities carrying out activities relating to opioid abuse reduction pursuant to a Federal contract or grant; and
(3) in consultation with the United States Attorney General, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and any other individual that the Federal Coordinator determines appropriate, establish and operate a publicly available electronic database through which the Federal Coordinator shall carry out the following:
(A) Collect data on opioid abuse from Federal agencies; State, local, and Tribal governments; nonprofit organizations; law enforcement; medical experts; public health educators; and research institutions.
(B) Publish a comprehensive list of Federal funding resources available to States for research on opioid abuse.
(C) Analyze causes and trends behind opioid addiction and pain management.
(D) Evaluate the effectiveness of Federal programs for opioid abuse reduction, including opioid treatment programs and medicated-assisted treatments.
(E) Evaluate whether any Federal programs for opioid abuse reduction are duplicative.
(F) Evaluate the extent to which Federal grants for the implementation of opioid abuse prevention strategies are successful in addressing opioid abuse in local communities.
(G) Provide recommendations to health care providers on alternatives to opioids for pain management and other areas in which health care providers can improve with respect to treating or preventing opioid abuse.
(H) Analyze opioid prescription guidelines, the different types of opioids prescribed by health care providers, and the use of medicated-assisted treatments.
(I) Compare the rate of opioid abuse in veterans receiving health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs with the rate of opioid abuse in the general population.
(J) Compare opioid abuse trends and prevention and treatment strategies in different regions and populations of the United States and determine whether certain strategies are more effective than others.
(K) Analyze to what extent Federal prevention and treatment strategies for opioid abuse are aligned with State and local prevention and treatment strategies.
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Federal Coordinator shall submit to Congress an initial report on the results of any analysis, evaluation, or comparison conducted under subsection (b)(3).
(2) UPDATED REPORT.—Not later than five years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Federal Coordinator shall submit to Congress a report that provides updates with respect to any results submitted in the initial report under paragraph (1).
(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each report submitted under this subsection shall be made publicly available on the electronic database established under subsection (b)(3).