HB2044, titled the Suicide Prevention Assistance Act, would amend the Public Health Service Act to create a federal grant program for primary care offices to provide self-harm and suicide prevention services. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, would award grants to eligible primary care offices to hire clinical social workers, screen patients for self-harm and suicide risk, provide short-term prevention services, and refer patients for longer-term care when needed.
The bill limits the program to no more than 10 grants total, with no more than one grant per primary care office and one per state. Each grant could be up to $500,000 for a two-year period and could be renewed. The Secretary would also be required to develop screening standards within 180 days, consult with stakeholder groups, and collect quarterly reports from grantees, followed by biennial reports to Congress and HHS components including CDC and NIMH.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would add a new grant authority to the Public Health Service Act and create a new section focused on suicide prevention in primary care settings. It would not directly mandate nationwide screening requirements for all providers, but it would establish federal funding, standards, and reporting requirements for participating primary care offices. The affected parties would include HHS, primary care practices, clinical social workers, and patients who may receive screening, brief intervention, and referral services.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears supportive and preventive in nature. The bill is framed as a targeted public health intervention aimed at improving access to early identification and treatment for self-harm and suicide risk in routine medical settings. No opposing arguments or recorded roll-call votes are available in the provided context.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided committee transcripts or voting history, because none were supplied. Potential areas of debate, based on the bill’s design, could include the limited number of grants, the cap of one grant per state, the cost and staffing requirements for primary care offices, and whether suicide prevention services should be implemented through primary care grant funding versus broader mental health programs. However, these concerns are not reflected in the supplied record.
An act to amend Sections 216 of, and to add Section 216.5 to, the Education Code, relating to pupil health, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
Reforms the organizational structure for the Department of Transportation and Development including its duties, powers, and responsibilities of officers and employees (EN INCREASE SD EX See Note)
A bill for an act providing for certain business entities acting under the jurisdiction of the secretary of state by providing for the removal of information from a filing based on a sworn affidavit and administrative dissolution based on the response to interrogatories.(See HF 2678.)