42 U.S.C. § 290ee–5 — National recovery housing best practices

(a) Best practices for operating recovery housing (1) The Secretary must continue activities to identify, help develop, and periodically update consensus-based best practices — which may include model laws — for minimum standards on operating and promoting the availability of high-quality recovery housing. (2) In doing so, the Secretary must consult, as appropriate, with: (A) officials from the agencies in (e)(2); (B) directors or commissioners of state and tribal health departments, state Medicaid programs, and state insurance agencies; (C) representatives of health insurers; (D) national accrediting entities and reputable recovery housing providers and analysts, including Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and tribally designated housing entities; (E) individuals with a history of substance use disorder; and (F) other stakeholders the Secretary identifies. (3) The best practices must be made publicly available and published on SAMHSA's website. (4) The Secretary may not include any best practices about substance use disorder treatment services itself. (b) Identification of fraudulent recovery housing operators (1) The Secretary must identify or help develop common indicators for spotting potentially fraudulent recovery housing operators. (2) In doing so, the Secretary must consult, as appropriate, the same individuals and entities as in (a)(2), plus the Attorney General. (3) The Secretary must: (A) consider how law enforcement, public and private payers, and the public can best identify and report fraudulent operators; and (B) identify or develop indicators, which may relate to unusual billing practices, average lengths of stay, excessive drug testing (in cost or frequency), and unusually high recidivism. (c) Dissemination The Secretary must, as appropriate, share the best practices from (a) and the indicators from (b) with: (1) state agencies, including technical assistance to adopt them; (2) Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and tribally designated housing entities; (3) the Attorney General; (4) the Secretary of Labor; (5) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (6) state and local law enforcement; (7) health insurers; (8) recovery housing entities; and (9) the public. (d) Requirements In carrying out (a) and (b), the Secretary, consulting with appropriate individuals and entities, must consider how recovery housing supports recovery and prevents relapse, recidivism, or overdose (including death), including through better access to and adherence with treatment like medication-assisted treatment. (e) Coordination of Federal activities (1) The Secretary (through the Assistant Secretary) and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development must convene an interagency working group to: (A) increase collaboration among HHS, HUD, and the agencies in (2)(B) on promoting housing — including high-quality recovery housing — for people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, or substance use disorder; (B) align those agencies' efforts and avoid duplication; (C) develop objectives, priorities, and a long-term plan supporting state, Tribal, and local recovery housing efforts consistent with these best practices; and (D) improve information on recovery housing quality. (2) The working group is co-chaired by the Secretary (through the Assistant Secretary) and the HUD Secretary, with representatives of CMS, SAMHSA, the Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS's Office of Inspector General, the Indian Health Service, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Justice, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and any other agency the co-chairs choose. (3) The group must meet quarterly. (4) Within 4 years of December 29, 2022, the group must report to the relevant Senate and House committees describing its work and recommendations for improving federal, state, and local coordination on recovery housing and other housing for people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, or substance use disorder. (f) Grants for implementing national recovery housing best practices (1) The Secretary must award grants to states (and their political subdivisions), Indian Tribes, and territories to: (A) provide technical assistance implementing the (a) guidelines and recommendations; and (B) promote the availability of recovery housing and its maintenance consistent with the best practices. (2) Within 90 days of receiving a grant, and every 2 years after, each grantee must submit to the Secretary — and publish on a public website — its plan for promoting recovery housing, and a description of how the plan matches the best practices. (g) Rule of construction Nothing in this section lets the Secretary require states to follow minimum standards in their oversight of recovery housing. (h) Definitions (1) "Recovery housing" means a shared living environment free from alcohol and illicit drug use, centered on peer support and connection to services that promote sustained recovery from substance use disorders. (2) "Indian Tribe" and "Tribal organization" have the meanings given those terms in 25 U.S.C. § 5304. (3) "Tribally designated housing entity" has the meaning given that term in 25 U.S.C. § 4103. (i) Authorization of appropriations Congress authorized $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.