123STA T . 1 8 8 PUBLIC LA W 111 –5—FE B.1 7, 2 0 0 9(1)NUMBERAND A P P OI N T MENT .—TheCouncils h a ll b eco m-p ose d o f no t mo r ethan1 5 members , all of w hom are senior F ederal officers or emplo y ees with responsibility for health- related pro g rams, appointed by the P resident, acting through the S ecretary of H ealth and Human Ser v ices (in this section referred to as the ‘ ‘Secretary ’ ’). M embers shall first be appointed to the Council not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this A ct. ( 2 ) MEMBER S .— (A) I N G ENERA L .—The members of the Council shall include one senior officer or employee from each of the following agencies
(i) The Agency for Healthcare R esearch and Q uality. (ii) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Serv- ices. (iii) The National Institutes of Health. (iv) The O ffice of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. (v) The Food and D rug Administration. (vi) The V eterans Health Administration within the Department of Veterans Affairs. (vii) The office within the Department of Defense responsible for management of the Department of Defense Military Health Care System. ( B ) QUALI F I C ATIONS.—At least half of the members of the Council shall be physicians or other e x perts with clinical expertise. (3) C H AIRMAN
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ICE CHAIRMAN.—The Secretary shall serve as Chairman of the Council and shall designate a member to serve as Vice Chairman. (e) REPORTS.— (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than J une 30, 200 9 , the Council shall submit to the President and the Congress a report containing information describing current Federal activi- ties on comparative effectiveness research and recommenda- tions for such research conducted or supported from funds made available for allotment by the Secretary for comparative effectiveness research in this Act. (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Council shall submit to the Presi- dent and Congress an annual report regarding its activities and recommendations concerning the infrastructure needs, organi z ational expenditures and opportunities for better coordination of comparative effectiveness research by relevant Federal departments and agencies. (f) STAFFING; SUPPORT.—From funds made available for allot- ment by the Secretary for comparative effectiveness research in this Act, the Secretary shall ma k e available not more than 1 percent to the Council for staff and administrative support. (g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— (1) COVERAGE.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the Council to mandate coverage, reimbursement, or other policies for any public or private payer. (2) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—None of the reports submitted under this section or recommendations made by the Council shall be construed as mandates or clinical guidelines for payment, coverage, or treatment. Deadlin e .
