1.Parkinson’s Disease Research,
Education, Clinical Centers, and Multiple Sclerosis Centers of
Excellence
(a)Requirement for
establishment of centers
(1)Subchapter II of
chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
7329.Parkinson’s disease
research, education, and clinical centers and multiple sclerosis centers of
excellence
(a)The Secretary, upon the recommendation of
the Under Secretary for Health and pursuant to the provisions of this section,
shall—
(1)designate—
(A)at least 6 Department health care
facilities as the locations for centers of Parkinson’s disease research,
education, and clinical activities and (subject to the appropriation of
sufficient funds for such purpose); and
(B)at least 2 Department health care
facilities as the locations for Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence
(subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds for such purpose); and
(2)establish and operate such centers at such
locations in accordance with this section.
(b)Existing
facilities; geographic distributionIn designating locations for centers under
subsection (a), the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary
for Health, shall—
(1)designate each Department health care
facility that, as of January 1, 2005, was operating a Parkinson’s Disease
Research, Education, and Clinical Center or a Multiple Sclerosis Center of
Excellence unless the Secretary, on the recommendation of the Under Secretary
for Health, determines that such facility—
(A)does not meet the requirements of
subsection (c);
(B)has not demonstrated effectiveness in
carrying out the established purposes of such center; or
(C)has not demonstrated the potential to carry
out such purposes effectively in the reasonably foreseeable future; and
(2)assure appropriate geographic distribution
of such facilities.
(c)The Secretary
may not designate a health care facility as a location for a center under
subsection (a) unless—
(1)the peer review panel established under
subsection (d) determines that the proposal submitted by such facility is among
those proposals which meet the highest competitive standards of scientific and
clinical merit; and
(2)the Secretary, upon the recommendation of
the Under Secretary for Health, determines that the facility has (or may
reasonably be anticipated to develop)—
(A)an arrangement with an accredited medical
school which provides education and training in neurology and with which such
facility is affiliated under which residents receive education and training in
innovative diagnosis and treatment of chronic neurodegenerative diseases and
movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, or in the case of Multiple
Sclerosis Centers, multiple sclerosis disease;
(B)the ability to attract the participation of
scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity in health-care research
efforts;
(C)a policymaking advisory committee composed
of consumers and appropriate health care and research representatives of the
facility and of the affiliated school or schools to advise the directors of
such facility and such center on policy matters pertaining to the activities of
such center during the period of the operation of such center;
(D)the capability to conduct effectively
evaluations of the activities of such center;
(E)the capability to coordinate, as part of an
integrated national system, education, clinical, and research activities within
all facilities with such centers;
(F)the capability to jointly develop a
consortium of providers with interest in treating neurodegenerative diseases,
including Parkinson’s disease, and other movement disorders, or multiple
sclerosis in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, at facilities without such
centers in order to ensure better access to state of the art diagnosis, care,
and education for neurodegenerative disorders, or in the case of Multiple
Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system
throughout the health care system; and
(G)the capability to develop a national
repository in the health care system for the collection of data on health
services delivered to veterans seeking care for neurodegenerative diseases,
including Parkinson’s disease, and other movement disorders, or in the case of
Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous
system.
(d)(1)The Under Secretary for Health shall
establish a panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that
are submitted to the Secretary for the establishment of new centers under this
section.
(2)(A)The membership of the panel shall consist
of experts in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and
other movement disorders, and, in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers,
experts in autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system.
(B)Members of the panel shall serve as
consultants to the Department for a period of no longer than 2 years except in
the case of panelists asked to serve on the initial panel as specified in
subparagraph (C).
(C)In order to ensure panel continuity, half
of the members of the first panel shall be appointed for a period of 3 years
and half for a period of 2 years.
(3)The panel shall review each proposal
submitted to the panel by the Under Secretary and shall submit its views on the
relative scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal to the Under
Secretary.
(4)The panel shall not be subject to the
Federal Advisory Committee Act.
(e)Before providing
funds for the operation of any such center at a health care facility other than
a health care facility designated under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall
ensure that—
(1)the Parkinson's disease center at each
facility designated under subsection (b)(1) is receiving adequate funding to
enable such center to function effectively in the areas of Parkinson’s disease
research, education, and clinical activities; and
(2)in the case of a new Multiple Sclerosis
Center, that existing centers are receiving adequate funding to enable such
centers to function effectively in the areas of multiple sclerosis research,
education, and clinical activities.
(f)Authorization of
appropriations(1)There are authorized to be appropriated
such sums as may be necessary for the support of the research and education
activities of the centers established under subsection (a).
(2)The Under Secretary for Health shall
allocate to such centers from other funds appropriated generally for the
Department medical services account and medical and prosthetics research
account, as appropriate, such amounts as the Under Secretary for Health
determines appropriate.
(g)Funding
eligibility and priority for Parkinson's disease researchActivities of clinical and scientific
investigation at each center established under subsection (a) for Parkinson's
disease shall—
(1)be eligible to compete for the award of
funding from funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics
research account; and
(2)receive priority in the award of funding
from such account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for research in
Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.
(h)Funding
eligibility and priority for multiple sclerosis researchActivities of clinical and scientific
investigation at each center established under subsection (a) for multiple
sclerosis shall—
(1)be eligible to compete for the award of
funding from funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics
research account; and
(2)receive priority in the award of funding
from such account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for research in
multiple sclerosis and other movement
disorders.
.
(2)The table of
sections at the beginning of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7328 the
following:
Sec. 7329. Parkinson’s disease research, education, and
clinical centers and multiple sclerosis centers of
excellence.
.
(b)Section 7329 of title
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on
October 1, 2005.