Stop Overdose Stat Act or the S.O.S. Act - Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) award grants or enter into cooperative agreements to enable eligible entities to reduce deaths occurring from drug overdoses, and (2) give priority to eligible public health agencies or community-based organizations that have expertise in preventing deaths occurring from overdoses in high risk populations.
Conditions receipt of a grant or agreement on an entity agreeing to use the grant or agreement for: (1) purchasing and distributing the drug naloxone; (2) educating physicians and pharmacists about overdose prevention and naloxone prescription; (3) training first responders, other individuals in a position to respond to an overdose, and law enforcement and corrections officials on the effective response; (4) implementing and enhancing programs to provide overdose prevention, recognition, treatment, and response to individuals in need; and (5) expanding such programs.
Requires the Director to: (1) compile and publish, annually, data on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses for the preceding year; and (2) award grants to state, local, or tribal governments, or the National Poison Data System working in conjunction with such governments, to improve drug overdose surveillance and reporting capabilities.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and submit to Congress a plan to reduce the number of deaths occurring from overdoses.
Requires the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to: (1) prioritize and conduct or support research on drug overdose and overdose prevention, and (2) support research on the development of dosage forms of naloxone for the prehospital treatment of unintentional drug overdose.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6311 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6311
To prevent deaths occurring from drug overdoses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 2, 2012
Ms. Edwards (for herself, Mrs. Bono Mack, Ms. Norton, Ms. Lee of
California, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Lynch,
Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Carnahan, Mr.
Carson of Indiana, Mr. Towns, Mr. Moran, Mr. Keating, Ms. Richardson,
Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Olver, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Conyers, Ms.
Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Lewis of
Georgia, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Bass of California, and Mr. Rush) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent deaths occurring from drug overdoses.
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 Overdose Stat Act'' or the
``S.O.S Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, a drug overdose fatality occurs in the United
States every 14 minutes. More people now die from drug-related
deaths than traffic fatalities in the United States.
(2) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports
that nearly 36,500 people in the United States died from a drug
overdose in 2008 alone. More than 75 percent of these deaths
were due to unintentional drug overdoses, and many could have
been prevented.
(3) Deaths resulting from unintentional drug overdoses
increased more than 400 percent between 1980 and 1999, and more
than doubled between 1999 and 2008.
(4) Ninety-one percent of all unintentional poisoning
deaths are due to drugs. Poisoning deaths cost society
$93,464,000 in direct medical costs and $28,142,598,000 in lost
productivity costs in the year 2005 alone.
(5) Both fatal and nonfatal overdoses place a heavy burden
on public health and public safety resources, yet no Federal
agency has been tasked with stemming this crisis.
(6) Opioid pain medications such as oxycodone and
hydrocodone are involved in more than 40 percent of all drug
poisoning deaths. Six times as many people died of an overdose
from methadone prescribed to treat pain in 2009 than a decade
before. Rural and suburban regions are disproportionately
affected by opioid prescription overdoses.
(7) Naloxone is a medication that rapidly reverses overdose
from heroin and opioid pain medications.
(8) In April 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
held a public workshop in collaboration with the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), and with participation from the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP), to discuss making naloxone more widely available
outside of conventional medical settings to reduce the
incidence of opioid overdose fatalities.
(9) Health practitioners often do not adequately inform
patients and caregivers on how to recognize overdose symptoms
and effectively respond by seeking emergency assistance and
providing naloxone and other first aid in order to save a life.
(10) The American Medical Association (AMA), the Nation's
largest physician organization, supports further implementation
of community-based programs that offer naloxone and other
opioid overdose prevention services.
(11) Community-based overdose prevention programs have
successfully prevented deaths from opioid overdoses by making
rescue trainings and naloxone available to first responders,
parents, and other bystanders who may encounter an overdose. A
CDC report credits overdose prevention programs with saving
more than 10,000 lives since 1996.
(12) At least 188 local overdose prevention programs are
operating in the United States, including in major cities such
as Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, San
Francisco, and Philadelphia, and statewide in New Mexico,
Massachusetts, and New York. In New Mexico, which has one of
the highest drug overdose death rates in the country, health
officials estimate the statewide naloxone distribution program
that began in 2001 has reversed 3,000 overdoses. Another
program in Wilkes County, North Carolina, reduced overdose
deaths 69 percent between 2009 and 2011.
(13) Overdose prevention programs are needed in
correctional facilities, addiction treatment programs, and
other places where people are at higher risk of overdosing
after a period of abstinence.
(14) A real-time overdose surveillance and reporting
database is needed to monitor fatal and nonfatal drug
overdoses, identify areas of the country in need of
programmatic support, monitor the outcomes of overdose
occurrences, and enhance evaluation of community programs and
interventions.
SEC. 3. OVERDOSE PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention shall award grants or cooperative agreements to
eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to reduce deaths
occurring from overdoses of drugs.
(b) Application.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring a grant or
cooperative agreement under this section shall submit to the
Director an application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director may require.
(2) Contents.--An application under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) a description of the activities to be funded
through the grant or cooperative agreement; and
(B) a demonstration that the eligible entity has
the capacity to carry out such activities.
(c) Priority.--In awarding grants and cooperative agreements under
subsection (a), the Director shall give priority to eligible entities
that--
(1) are a public health agency or community-based
organization; and
(2) have expertise in preventing deaths occurring from
overdoses of drugs in populations at high risk of such deaths.
(d) Eligible Activities.--As a condition on receipt of a grant or
cooperative agreement under this section, an eligible entity shall
agree to use the grant or cooperative agreement to carry out one or
more of the following activities:
(1) Purchasing and distributing the drug naloxone.
(2) Educating physicians and pharmacists about overdose
prevention and naloxone prescription.
(3) Training first responders, other individuals in a
position to respond to an overdose, and law enforcement and
corrections officials on the effective response to individuals
who have overdosed on drugs.
(4) Implementing and enhancing programs to provide overdose
prevention, recognition, treatment, and response to individuals
in need of such services.
(5) Expanding a program described in paragraph (1), (2), or
(3).
(e) Report.--As a condition on receipt of a grant or cooperative
agreement under this section, an eligible entity shall agree to prepare
and submit, not later than 90 days after the end of the grant or
cooperative agreement period, a report to the Director describing the
results of the activities supported through the grant or cooperative
agreement.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section
for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
SEC. 4. SENTINEL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM.
(a) Data Collection.--The Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention shall annually compile and publish data on both
fatal and nonfatal overdoses of drugs for the preceding year. To the
extent possible, the data shall be collected from all county, State,
and tribal governments, the Federal Government, and private sources
(such as the National Poison Data System), shall be made available in
the form of an Internet database that is accessible to the public, and
shall include--
(1) identification of the underlying drugs that led to
fatal overdose;
(2) identification of substance level specificity where
possible;
(3) analysis of trends in polydrug use in overdose victims,
as well as identification of emerging overdose patterns;
(4) results of toxicology screenings in fatal overdoses
routinely conducted by State medical examiners;
(5) identification of--
(A) drugs that were involved in both fatal and
nonfatal unintentional poisonings; and
(B) the number and percentage of such poisonings by
drug; and
(6) identification of the type of place where unintentional
drug poisonings occur, as well as the age, race, and gender of
victims.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary
for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
SEC. 5. SURVEILLANCE CAPACITY BUILDING.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention shall award grants or cooperative agreements to
State, local, or tribal governments, or the National Poison Data
System, working in conjunction with the State, local, or tribal
governments, to improve fatal and nonfatal drug overdose surveillance
and reporting capabilities, including the following:
(1) Implementing or enhancing the capacity of a coroner or
medical examiner's office to conduct toxicological screenings
where drug overdose is the suspected cause of death.
(2) Providing training to improve identification of drug
overdose as the cause of death by coroners and medical
examiners.
(3) Establishing, in cooperation with the National Poison
Data System, coroners, and medical examiners, a comprehensive
national program for surveillance of, and reporting to an
electronic database on, drug overdose deaths in the United
States.
(4) Establishing, in cooperation with the National Poison
Data System, a comprehensive national program for surveillance
of, and reporting to an electronic database on, fatal and
nonfatal drug overdose occurrences, including epidemiological
and toxicologic analysis and trends.
(b) Application.--
(1) In general.--A State, local, or tribal government or
the National Poison Data System desiring a grant or cooperative
agreement under this section shall submit to the Director an
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Director may require.
(2) Contents.--The application described in paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) a description of the activities to be funded
through the grant or cooperative agreement; and
(B) a demonstration that the State, local, or
tribal government or the National Poison Data System
has the capacity to carry out such activities.
(c) Report.--As a condition on receipt of a grant or cooperative
agreement under this section, a State, local, or tribal government or
the National Poison Data System shall agree to prepare and submit, not
later than 90 days after the end of the grant or cooperative agreement
period, a report to the Director describing the results of the
activities supported through the grant or cooperative agreement.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary
for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
SEC. 6. REDUCING OVERDOSE DEATHS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
develop a plan in consultation with a task force comprised of
stakeholders to reduce the number of deaths occurring from overdoses of
drugs and shall submit the plan to Congress. The plan shall include--
(1) an identification of the barriers to obtaining accurate
data regarding the number of deaths occurring from overdoses of
drugs;
(2) an identification of the barriers to implementing more
effective overdose prevention strategies and programs;
(3) an examination of overdose prevention best practices;
(4) a plan for implementation of a public health campaign
to educate physicians and the public about overdose prevention
and naloxone prescription;
(5) recommendations for improving and expanding overdose
prevention programming; and
(6) recommendations for such legislative or administrative
action as the Director considers appropriate.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``stakeholder'' means
any individual directly impacted by drug overdose, any direct service
provider who engages individuals at risk of a drug overdose, any drug
overdose prevention advocate, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the American
Association of Poison Control Centers, and any other individual or
entity with drug overdose expertise.
SEC. 7. OVERDOSE PREVENTION RESEARCH.
(a) Overdose Research.--The Director of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse shall prioritize and conduct or support research on drug
overdose and overdose prevention. The primary aims of this research
shall include--
(1) examinations of circumstances that contributed to drug
overdose and identification of drugs associated with fatal
overdose;
(2) evaluations of existing overdose prevention program
intervention methods; and
(3) pilot programs or research trials on new overdose
prevention strategies or programs that have not been studied in
the United States.
(b) Dosage Forms of Naloxone.--The Director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse shall support research on the development of
dosage forms of naloxone specifically intended to be used by lay
persons or first responders for the prehospital treatment of
unintentional drug overdose.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary
for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Director.--Unless otherwise specified, the term
``Director'' means the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
(2) Drug.--The term ``drug''--
(A) means a drug (as that term is defined in
section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 321)); and
(B) includes any controlled substance (as that term
is defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances
Act (21 U.S.C. 802)).
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an
entity that is a State, local, or tribal government, a
correctional institution, a law enforcement agency, a community
agency, a professional organization in the field of poison
control and surveillance, or a private nonprofit organization.
(4) National poison data system.--The term ``National
Poison Data System'' means the system operated by the American
Association of Poison Control Centers, in partnership with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for real-time
local, State, and national electronic reporting, and the
corresponding database network.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the several
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and
any other territory or possession of the United States.
(6) Training.--The term ``training'' means any activity
that is educational, instructional, or consultative in nature,
and may include volunteer trainings, awareness building
exercises, outreach to individuals who are at-risk of a drug
overdose, and distribution of educational materials.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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