Sec. 6. Recommendations for the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of interrelated conditions developed by multidisciplinary task force
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Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a multidisciplinary task force, and appoint members to such task force, to develop recommendations for the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment for several interrelated conditions, including, at a minimum— nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; obesity; diabetes and other metabolic disorders; and any other conditions determined appropriate by the Secretary. The task force established under subsection
(a)shall be composed of not more than 12 members to be appointed by the Secretary and shall include representatives of each of the following groups: Physician specialists, including in hepatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, cardiology, and endocrinology. Experts in public health and epidemiology. Patient advocates. Non-voting representatives of Federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health of the Department of Health and Human Services. Non-voting representatives of manufacturers of drugs, devices, or diagnostic tools approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of any of the conditions specified in subsection (a). In developing the recommendations under subsection (a), the task force established under such subsection shall consider— guidelines issued by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, published evidence, recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force, and other information it determines appropriate in developing such recommendations; and whether a combined protocol addressing a range of conditions specified in such subsection is advised for populations affected by more than one condition for which such recommendations are being developed. The task force shall compile screening and diagnosis recommendations developed under subsection
(a)not later than 18 months after the date on which the first meeting of the task force concludes. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the task force shall develop an action plan to combat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (referred to in this section as the Action Plan ). The Action Plan shall identify key goals and implementation strategies for— assuring appropriate surveillance of the public health impact in the United States of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; increasing awareness among the general public of the United States of risk factors; enhancing clinical education on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis among physicians and health care professionals within the United States; supporting research on therapies and cures for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; and other areas determined appropriate by the Secretary. The Secretary shall, at least every 2 years, evaluate the implementation of the Action Plan under this section to provide any updates or modifications to such plan. Not later than 18 months after the date on which the Action Plan developed under paragraph
(1)is released, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that discusses any updated recommendations for updates or modifications considering initial progress made in advancing the action plan's goals or barriers to attaining such goals. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the first meeting of the working group is held, the working group shall transmit to the Director of the NIH a report providing recommendations with respect to preventive and diagnostic measures that could, in consideration of the relationship between the prevalence of liver cancer and the prevalence of certain liver diseases, help reduce liver cancer rates and make liver cancer more treatable when detected.