§290ee–3. State demonstration grants for comprehensive opioid abuse response

(a) Definitions

In this section:

(1) Dispenser

The term "dispenser" has the meaning given the term in section 802 of title 21.

(2) Prescriber

The term "prescriber" means a dispenser who prescribes a controlled substance, or the agent of such a dispenser.

(3) Prescriber of a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance

The term "prescriber of a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance" does not include a prescriber of a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance that dispenses the substance—

(A) for use on the premises on which the substance is dispensed;

(B) in a hospital emergency room, when the substance is in short supply;

(C) for a certified opioid treatment program; or

(D) in other situations as the Secretary may reasonably determine.

(4) Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance

The term "schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance" means a controlled substance that is listed on schedule II, schedule III, or schedule IV of section 812(c) of title 21.

(b) Grants for comprehensive opioid abuse response

(1) In general

The Secretary shall award grants to States, and combinations of States, to implement an integrated opioid abuse response initiative.

(2) Purposes

A State receiving a grant under this section shall establish a comprehensive response plan to opioid abuse, which may include—

(A) education efforts around opioid use, treatment, and addiction recovery, including education of residents, medical students, and physicians and other prescribers of schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances on relevant prescribing guidelines, the prescription drug monitoring program of the State described in subparagraph (B), and overdose prevention methods;

(B) establishing, maintaining, or improving a comprehensive prescription drug monitoring program to track dispensing of schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances, which may—

(i) provide for data sharing with other States; and

(ii) allow all individuals authorized by the State to write prescriptions for schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances to access the prescription drug monitoring program of the State;

(C) developing, implementing, or expanding prescription drug and opioid addiction treatment programs by—

(i) expanding the availability of treatment for prescription drug and opioid addiction, including medication-assisted treatment and behavioral health therapy, as appropriate;

(ii) developing, implementing, or expanding screening for individuals in treatment for prescription drug and opioid addiction for hepatitis C and HIV, and treating or referring those individuals if clinically appropriate; or

(iii) developing, implementing, or expanding recovery support services and programs at high schools or institutions of higher education;

(D) developing, implementing, and expanding efforts to prevent overdose death from opioid abuse or addiction to prescription medications and opioids; and

(E) advancing the education and awareness of the public, providers, patients, consumers, and other appropriate entities regarding the dangers of opioid abuse, safe disposal of prescription medications, and detection of early warning signs of opioid use disorders.

(3) Application

A State seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form, and containing such information, as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(4) Use of funds

A State that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant for the cost, including the cost for technical assistance, training, and administration expenses, of carrying out an integrated opioid abuse response initiative as outlined by the State's comprehensive response plan to opioid abuse established under paragraph (2).

(5) Priority considerations

In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall, as appropriate, give priority to a State that—

(A)(i) provides civil liability protection for first responders, health professionals, and family members who have received appropriate training in administering a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.] for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; and

(ii) submits to the Secretary a certification by the attorney general of the State that the attorney general has—

(I) reviewed any applicable civil liability protection law to determine the applicability of the law with respect to first responders, health care professionals, family members, and other individuals who—

(aa) have received appropriate training in administering a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; and

(bb) may administer a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; and

(II) concluded that the law described in subclause (I) provides adequate civil liability protection applicable to such persons;

(B) has a process for enrollment in services and benefits necessary by criminal justice agencies to initiate or continue treatment in the community, under which an individual who is incarcerated may, while incarcerated, enroll in services and benefits that are necessary for the individual to continue treatment upon release from incarceration;

(C) ensures the capability of data sharing with other States, where applicable, such as by making data available to a prescription monitoring hub;

(D) ensures that data recorded in the prescription drug monitoring program database of the State are regularly updated, to the extent possible;

(E) ensures that the prescription drug monitoring program of the State notifies prescribers and dispensers of schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances when overuse or misuse of such controlled substances by patients is suspected; and

(F) has in effect one or more statutes or implements policies that maximize use of prescription drug monitoring programs by individuals authorized by the State to prescribe schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances.

(6) Evaluation

In conducting an evaluation of the program under this section pursuant to section 701 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, with respect to a State, the Secretary shall report on State legislation or policies related to maximizing the use of prescription drug monitoring programs and the incidence of opioid use disorders and overdose deaths in such State.

(7) States with local prescription drug monitoring programs

(A) In general

In the case of a State that does not have a prescription drug monitoring program, a county or other unit of local government within the State that has a prescription drug monitoring program shall be treated as a State for purposes of this section, including for purposes of eligibility for grants under paragraph (1).

(B) Plan for interoperability

In submitting an application to the Secretary under paragraph (3), a county or other unit of local government shall submit a plan outlining the methods such county or unit of local government shall use to ensure the capability of data sharing with other counties and units of local government within the state ¹ and with other States, as applicable.

(c) Authorization of funding

For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title V, §548, as added Pub. L. 114–198, title VI, §601, July 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 732.)

References in Text

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(5)(A)(i), (ii)(I), is act June 25, 1938, ch. 675, 52 Stat. 1040, which is classified generally to chapter 9 (§301 et seq.) of Title 21, Food and Drugs. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 301 of Title 21 and Tables.

Section 701 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, referred to in subsec. (b)(6), is section 701 of Pub. L. 114–198, which enacted sections 290aa–15, 290aa–16, 3797ff–5, and 3797ff–6 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 290aa–15 of this title.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 290ee–3, act July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title V, §548, formerly Pub. L. 92–255, title IV, §408, Mar. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 79, as amended Pub. L. 93–282, title III, §303(a), (b), May 14, 1974, 88 Stat. 137, 138; Pub. L. 94–237, §4(c)(5)(A), Mar. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 244; Pub. L. 94–581, title I, §111(c)(3), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2852; Pub. L. 97–35, title IX, §973(d), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 598; renumbered §527 of act July 1, 1944, and amended Apr. 26, 1983, Pub. L. 98–24, §2(b)(16)(B), 97 Stat. 182; Aug. 27, 1986, Pub. L. 99–401, title I, §106(b), 100 Stat. 907; renumbered §548, July 22, 1987, Pub. L. 100–77, title VI, §611(2), 101 Stat. 516; June 13, 1991, Pub. L. 102–54, §13(q)(1)(A)(iii), (B)(ii), 105 Stat. 278, which related to confidentiality of patient records for drug abuse programs, was omitted in the general revision of this part by Pub. L. 102–321. See section 290dd–2 of this title.

Account for the State Response to the Opioid Abuse Crisis

Pub. L. 114–255, div. A, title I, §1003, Dec. 13, 2016, 130 Stat. 1044, provided that:

"(a) In General.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the 'Secretary') shall use any funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (b) to carry out the grant program described in subsection (c) for purposes of addressing the opioid abuse crisis within the States.

"(b) Account for the State Response to the Opioid Abuse Crisis.—

"(1) Establishment.—There is established in the Treasury an account, to be known as the 'Account For the State Response to the Opioid Abuse Crisis' (referred to in this subsection as the 'Account'), to carry out the opioid grant program described in subsection (c).

"(2) Transfer of direct spending savings.—

"(A) In general.—The following amounts shall be transferred to the Account from the general fund of the Treasury:

"(i) For fiscal year 2017, $500,000,000.

"(ii) For fiscal year 2018, $500,000,000.

"(B) Amounts deposited.—Any amounts transferred under subparagraph (A) shall remain unavailable in the Account until such amounts are appropriated pursuant to paragraph (3).

"(3) Appropriations.—

"(A) Authorization of appropriations.—In each of the fiscal years 2017 and 2018, there is authorized to be appropriated from the Account to the Secretary, for the grant program described in subsection (c), an amount not to exceed the total amount transferred to the Account under paragraph (2)(A), to remain available until expended.

"(B) Offsetting future appropriations.—In each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018, for any discretionary appropriation under the heading 'Account For the State Response to the Opioid Abuse Crisis' for the grant program described in subsection (c), the total amount of such appropriations in the applicable fiscal year (not to exceed the total amount remaining in the Account) shall be subtracted from the estimate of discretionary budget authority and the resulting outlays for any estimate under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 [Pub. L. 93–344, see Short Title note set out under section 621 of Title 2, The Congress, and Tables] or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 [Pub. L. 99–177, title II, see Short Title note set out under section 900 of Title 2, The Congress, and Tables], and the amount transferred to the Account shall be reduced by the same amount.

"(c) Opioid Grant Program.—

"(1) State response to the opioid abuse crisis.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall award grants to States for the purpose of addressing the opioid abuse crisis within such States, in accordance with subparagraph (B). In awarding such grants, the Secretary shall give preference to States with an incidence or prevalence of opioid use disorders that is substantially higher relative to other States.

"(2) Opioid grants.—Grants awarded to a State under this subsection shall be used for carrying out activities that supplement activities pertaining to opioids undertaken by the State agency responsible for administering the substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant under subpart II of part B of title XIX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–21 et seq.), which may include public health-related activities such as the following:

"(A) Improving State prescription drug monitoring programs.

"(B) Implementing prevention activities, and evaluating such activities to identify effective strategies to prevent opioid abuse.

"(C) Training for health care practitioners, such as best practices for prescribing opioids, pain management, recognizing potential cases of substance abuse, referral of patients to treatment programs, and overdose prevention.

"(D) Supporting access to health care services, including those services provided by Federally certified opioid treatment programs or other appropriate health care providers to treat substance use disorders.

"(E) Other public health-related activities, as the State determines appropriate, related to addressing the opioid abuse crisis within the State.

"(d) Accountability and Oversight.—A State receiving a grant under subsection (c) shall include in a report related to substance abuse submitted to the Secretary pursuant to section 1942 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–52), a description of—

"(1) the purposes for which the grant funds received by the State under such subsection for the preceding fiscal year were expended and a description of the activities of the State under the program; and

"(2) the ultimate recipients of amounts provided to the State in the grant.

"(e) Limitations.—Any funds made available pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (b)—

"(1) notwithstanding any transfer authority in any appropriations Act, shall not be used for any purpose other than the grant program in subsection (c); and

"(2) shall be subject to the same requirements as substance abuse prevention and treatment programs under titles V and XIX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq., 300w et seq.).

"(f) Sunset.—This section shall expire on September 30, 2026."

¹ So in original. Probably should be capitalized.