Protecting NAS Babies Act

Protecting Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Babies Act or the Protecting NAS Babies Act

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a strategy for implementing recommendations from a departmental report on prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome (a syndrome in which newborns exhibit withdrawal symptoms because of substance use during pregnancy). The strategy must include timelines for implementation, resources for state health agencies, and recommendations for any needed statutory changes.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5562 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5562

  To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a 
     strategy implementing certain recommendations relating to the 
      Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2018

 Mr. Jenkins of West Virginia introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a 
     strategy implementing certain recommendations relating to the 
      Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Neonatal Abstinence 
Syndrome Babies Act'' or the ``Protecting NAS Babies Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Neonatal abstinence syndrome (referred to in this 
        section as ``NAS'') is a group of conditions that can afflict a 
        newborn who had in utero exposure to drugs, including opioids.
            (2) According to a report by the Government Accountability 
        Office, symptoms of NAS include irritability, loud crying, 
        stiffness, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, poor feeding, 
        seizures, and respiratory distress.
            (3) According to a 2016 study by the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention, which was based on data from 28 States, 
        the incidence of NAS increased 300 percent between 1999 and 
        2013.
            (4) According to another study entitled, ``Neonatal 
        abstinence syndrome and associated health care expenditures: 
        United States, 2000-2009'', the incidence rate of NAS in rural 
        America rose from 1.2 per 1,000 hospital births in 2004 to 7.5 
        per 1,000 hospital births in 2013.
            (5) Innovative, specialized, and collaborative efforts are 
        needed to address the treatment of infants diagnosed with NAS.
            (6) The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 
        (Public Law 114-198), which was enacted in July 2016, required 
        the Government Accountability Office to examine treatment 
        options for infants with NAS (including options available under 
        State Medicaid plans under title XIX of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.)), assesses different medical care 
        models and settings for the treatment of NAS, and prioritizes 
        finding best practices for the treatment of infants with NAS.
            (7) An October 2017 report by the Government Accountability 
        Office entitled, ``Federal Action Needed to Address Neonatal 
        Abstinence Syndrome'', recommended that the Department of 
        Health and Human Services should take action on its report 
        entitled, ``Protecting Our Infants Act: Final Strategy''.

SEC. 3. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO 
              PROTECTING OUR INFANTS ACT.

    Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to 
Congress a strategy for implementing recommendations under the 
``child'' categories in the Department of Health and Human Services 
Behavioral Health Coordinating Council report entitled, ``Protecting 
Our Infants Act: Final Strategy''. Such strategy shall--
            (1) include a timeline for the implementation of each such 
        recommendation;
            (2) provide for the dissemination of information to State 
        health agencies on best practices and available resources and 
        data with respect to implementing each such recommendation; and
            (3) include recommendations for any statutory change, 
        including providing for additional authorities, that would help 
        the Department of Health and Human Services implement the 
        strategy.
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