12 2 STA T .406 4 PUBLIC LA W 110 –37 7 —O CT. 8, 2008 fundi n gtos u p po r tt he proposed P oison Pre v ention a nd C ontro lSy ste mw ith its national networ k of poison c enters . Support for the core activities at the current level of service is estimated to re q uire more than $10 0 million annually. ’ ’. (5) Sustaining the funding structure and increasing accessi -b ility to poison control centers will promote the utili z ation of poison control centers and reduce the inappropriate use of emergency medical services and other more costly health care services. T he 2 00 4I nstitute of M edicine R eport to Congress determined that for every $1 invested in the N ation’s poison control centers $ 7 of health care costs are saved. In 2005 , direct F ederal health care program savings totaled in e x cess of $525,000,000 as the result of poison control center public health services. ( 6 ) More than 3 0 percent of the cost savings and financial benefits of the Nation’s network of poison control centers are realized annually by Federal health care programs (estimated to be more than $1,000,000,000), yet Federal funding support (as demonstrated by the annual authorization of $30,100,000 in Public L aw 10 8– 1 9 4) comprises less than 11 percent of the annual network expenditures of poison centers. (7) Real-time data collected from the Nation’s certified poi- son control centers can be an important source of information for the detection, monitoring, and response for contamination of the air, water, pharmaceutical, or food supply. (8) In the event of a terrorist event, poison control centers will be relied upon as a critical source for accurate medical information and public health emergency response concerning the treatment of patients who have had an exposure to a chemical, radiological, or biological agent. SEC.3 . R E AUTHO R IZ ATIO N O FP OISON CONTRO L CENTERS NATIONAL TOLL - FREE NU MB ER. Section 1271 of the Public H ealth Service A ct (42 U .S.C. 300d– 71) is amended to read as follows
- ‘
‘SEC. 127 1. MAINTENANCE OF THE NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER. ‘ ‘(a) I NGE NE RAL . — The Secretary shall provide coordination and assistance to poison control centers for the establishment of a nationwide toll-free phone number, and the maintenance of such number, to be used to access such centers. ‘‘(b) A UTHO R IZ ATION O F A P PROPRIATION S .—There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 to carry out this section, and $700,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for the maintenance of the nationwide toll free phone number under subsection (a).’’. SEC. 4 . REAUTHORIZATION OF NATION W I D E MEDIA CAMPAI G NTO PROMOTE POISON CONTROL CENTER UTILIZATION. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1272 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d–72) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘SEC. 1272. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE POISON CON- TROL CENTER UTILIZATION. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out, and expand upon, a national media campaign to educate the public and health care providers about poison prevention and the availability of poison
�
