[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1773 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1773

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national 
  outreach and education strategy and research to improve behavioral 
health among the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
population, while addressing stigma against behavioral health treatment 
                         among such population.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 31 (legislative day, May 30), 2023

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Ms. Cortez Masto, and Mr. Booker) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
               on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national 
  outreach and education strategy and research to improve behavioral 
health among the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
population, while addressing stigma against behavioral health treatment 
                         among such population.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our 
Communities Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) AANHPI.--The term ``AANHPI'' means Asian American, 
        Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.
            (2) Secretary.--Except as otherwise specified, the term 
        ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The AANHPI community is among the fastest growing 
        population groups in the United States. It is a diverse 
        population representing over 30 countries, making up more than 
        50 distinct ethnic groups, and speaking more than 100 languages 
        and dialects.
            (2) There is a growing mental health crisis in the United 
        States, particularly for AANHPI individuals. AANHPI individuals 
        with mental health challenges have the lowest rates of mental 
        health service utilization compared to other racial or ethnic 
        populations. In 2021, only 25 percent of Asian adults with a 
        mental health challenge received treatment in the past year. 
        Although suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death, it is 
        the leading cause of death for AANHPI youth. From 2018 to 2020, 
        AANHPI youth between the ages of 10 to 24 years were the only 
        racial or ethnic population in this age category where suicide 
        was the leading cause of death.
            (3) Such mental health disparities within the AANHPI 
        community may be attributed to systemic barriers to accessing 
        mental health services, including stigma attached to mental 
        health, limited availability of and access to culturally and 
        linguistically appropriate services, and insufficient research.
            (4) Insufficient research on AANHPI communities often leads 
        to an inaccurate representation of their experiences and needs. 
        It is imperative to disaggregate AANHPI population data to 
        better understand the range of mental health issues for each 
        subpopulation so that specific culturally and linguistically 
        appropriate solutions can be developed.
            (5) Critical investments are necessary to reduce stigma and 
        improve mental health within AANHPI communities, including 
        increasing culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach 
        education and mental health services, improving representation 
        of AANHPI individuals among behavioral health providers, and 
        strengthening disaggregated data collection in research.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL AANHPI BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION 
              STRATEGY.

    Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 553. NATIONAL AANHPI BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION 
              STRATEGY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary, shall, in coordination with the Director of the Office of 
Minority Health, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 
consultation with advocacy and behavioral health organizations serving 
populations of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
individuals or communities, develop and implement a national outreach 
and education strategy to promote behavioral health and reduce stigma 
associated with mental health and substance use disorders within the 
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population. Such 
strategy shall--
            ``(1) be designed to meet the diverse cultural and language 
        needs of the various Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and 
        Pacific Islander populations;
            ``(2) be developmentally and age appropriate;
            ``(3) increase awareness of symptoms of mental illnesses 
        common within subgroups of such population, taking into account 
        differences within subgroups, such as gender, gender identity, 
        age, sexual orientation, or ethnicity;
            ``(4) provide information on evidence-based, culturally and 
        linguistically appropriate, and adapted interventions and 
        treatments;
            ``(5) ensure full participation of, and engage, both 
        consumers and community members in the development and 
        implementation of materials; and
            ``(6) seek to broaden the perspective among both 
        individuals in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
        Islander communities and stakeholders serving such communities 
        to use a comprehensive public health approach to promoting 
        behavioral health that addresses a holistic view of health by 
        focusing on the intersection between behavioral and physical 
        health.
    ``(b) Reports.--Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary, shall submit to Congress, and make publicly available, a 
report on the extent to which the strategy developed and implemented 
under subsection (a) increased treatment utilization among the Asian 
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population for mental 
health and substance use disorders.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028.''.

SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT ON THE AANHPI YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, in 
        coordination with the Director of the National Institutes of 
        Health, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, 
        shall conduct a study on behavioral health among AANHPI youth.
            (2) Elements.--Such study required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include an assessment of--
                    (A) the prevalence, risk factors, and root causes 
                of mental health challenges, substance misuse, and 
                mental health and substance use disorders among AANHPI 
                youth;
                    (B) the prevalence among AANHPI youth of attempted 
                suicide, nonfatal substance use overdose, and death by 
                suicide or substance use overdose; and
                    (C) AANHPI youth that received treatment for mental 
                health and substance use disorders.
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make 
publicly available, a report on the findings of the study conducted 
under subsection (a), including--
            (1) identification of the barriers to accessing behavioral 
        health services for AANHPI youth;
            (2) identification of root causes of mental health 
        challenges and substance misuse among AANHPI youth;
            (3) recommendations for actions to be taken by the 
        Secretary to improve behavioral health among AANHPI youth;
            (4) recommendations for legislative or administrative 
        action to improve the behavioral health of AANHPI youth 
        experiencing depression, suicide, and overdose, and to reduce 
        the prevalence of depression, suicide, and overdose among 
        AANHPI youth; and
            (5) such other recommendations as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    (c) Data.--Any data included in the study or report under this 
section shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender 
identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and 
other relevant factors, in a manner that protects personal privacy and 
that is consistent with applicable Federal and State privacy law.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of carrying out 
this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for 
fiscal year 2024.

SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON STRATEGIES ON THE AANHPI BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 
              WORKFORCE SHORTAGE.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of the Health Resources and 
        Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor, and the 
        Director of the Office of Minority Health, shall conduct a 
        study on strategies for increasing the behavioral health 
        professional workforce that identify as AANHPI.
            (2) Elements.--Such study required under paragraph (1) 
        shall consider--
                    (A) the total number of licensed behavioral health 
                providers in the United States who identify as AANHPI;
                    (B) with respect to each such provider, information 
                regarding the current type of license, geographic area 
                of practice, and type of employer (such as hospital, 
                Federally-qualified health center, school, or private 
                practice);
                    (C) information regarding the cultural and 
                linguistic capabilities of such providers, including 
                languages spoken proficiently; and
                    (D) the relevant barriers to enrollment in 
                behavioral health professional education programs and 
                entering the behavioral workforce for AANHPI 
                individuals.
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make 
publicly available, a report on the findings of the study conducted 
under subsection (a), including--
            (1) identification of AANHPI licensed behavioral health 
        providers' knowledge and awareness of the barriers to quality 
        behavioral health care services faced by AANHPI individuals, 
        including stigma, limited English proficiency, and lack of 
        health insurance coverage;
            (2) recommendations for actions to be taken by the 
        Secretary to increase the number of AANHPI licensed behavioral 
        health professionals;
            (3) recommendations for legislative or administrative 
        action to improve the enrollment of AANHPI individuals in 
        behavioral health professional education programs; and
            (4) such other recommendations as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    (c) Data.--Any data included in the study or report under this 
section shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender 
identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and 
other relevant factors, in a manner that protects personal privacy and 
that is consistent with applicable Federal and State privacy law.
    (d) Definition.--In this section the term ``licensed behavioral 
health provider'' means any individual licensed to provide mental 
health or substance use disorder services, including in the professions 
of social work, psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family therapy, 
mental health counseling, and substance use disorder counseling.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of carrying out 
this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for 
fiscal year 2024.
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