[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 36 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3444. Mr. BLUNT submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 3378 proposed by Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Whitehouse, Mr. Portman, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Coons, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Durbin) to the bill S. 524, to authorize the 
Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of 
prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; which was ordered to lie on 
the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. TELEHEALTH GRANTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF 
                   OPIOID ABUSE.

       (a) In General.--Section 330I of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 254c-14) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, which may include 
     telehealth opioid abuse prevention and treatment grant 
     programs'' before the period;
       (2) in subsection (d)(1)(A), by inserting ``, including 
     health care services for the prevention and treatment of 
     opioid abuse'' after ``health care services'';
       (3) in subsection (f)(1)(B)(iii)--
       (A) in subclause (IX) by inserting ``, including community 
     mental health centers meeting the criteria specified in 
     section 1913(c) and located in rural areas'' after 
     ``outpatient mental health facilities''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(XIII) Drug abuse and opioid abuse treatment specialists.
       ``(XIV) Drug treatment and detoxification centers located 
     in rural areas, as identified by the Secretary.
       ``(XV) Clinics or hospitals of the Indian Health Service, 
     including hospitals and clinics operated by Indian tribes or 
     tribal organizations.''; and

       (4) in subsection (k)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``, including 
     prevention and treatment services for opioid abuse or 
     addiction,'' after ``clinical telehealth services''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Telehealth opioid abuse prevention and treatment.--
     The recipient of a telehealth opioid abuse prevention and 
     treatment grant referred to in subsection (b) may use funds 
     received through such grant to--
       ``(A) provide prevention and treatment services to rural 
     communities and coordinate care for individuals in such 
     communities receiving treatment for opioid abuse or 
     addiction;
       ``(B) provide continuing education to rural clinicians on 
     emerging treatment options for individuals suffering from 
     opioid addiction, including through the use of electronic 
     health records linking rural providers with specialists and 
     other opioid prevention and treatment experts in order to 
     improve health care outcomes;
       ``(C) provide continuing education to rural emergency 
     medical service providers to improve capacity to respond to 
     opioid overdoses;
       ``(D) coordinate broader clinical services for individuals 
     suffering from opioid addiction or recovering from such 
     addiction;
       ``(E) focus primarily on opioid prevention and addiction 
     services and providing other clinical services as needed in 
     rural settings; and
       ``(F) develop best practices in delivery of opioid abuse 
     prevention and treatment through telehealth services.''.
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