Peggy Lillis Clostridioides difficile Inclusion Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9098 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9098

To provide for surveillance of Clostridioides difficile, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2024

    Ms. Clarke of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for surveillance of Clostridioides difficile, 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; FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Peggy Lillis 
Clostridioides difficile Inclusion Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Clostridioides difficile (referred to in this section 
        as ``C.diff'') is a bacterium that can cause a range of 
        symptoms from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the 
        colon.
            (2) C. diff infections are a significant public health 
        concern, leading to substantial morbidity, mortality, and 
        healthcare costs in the United States. An estimated 500,000 
        infections, including 20,000 in children, occur in the United 
        States each year, causing an estimated 30,000 deaths. Because 
        C.diff infections is not mandatorily reported by outpatient 
        facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and others, this number 
        likely does not account for the full burden of C. diff 
        infections. The estimated attributable cost of C.diff 
        infections in the United States is $1,000,000,000.
            (3) Tracking and monitoring of C. diff cases is essential 
        for understanding the disease epidemiology, implementing 
        effective prevention and control strategies, and ensuring 
        public health and health care providers have to necessary 
        resources to improve health outcomes, address health 
        disparities, and reduce mortality. While C. diff is more 
        commonly found in White patients, Black patients tend to have 
        worse outcomes--including greater risk for severe C.diff 
        infections and greater risk for mortality.
    (c) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is to require the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention to include C.diff as a Nationally 
Notifiable Infectious Disease and Condition. 

SEC. 2. IMPROVING SURVEILLANCE OF CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE.

    (a) Inclusion as Nationally Notifiable Disease or Condition.--Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall add Clostridioides difficile 
(referred to in this section as ``C.diff'') to the list of nationally 
notifiable diseases or conditions published by the Council of State and 
Territorial Epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
    (b) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) States.--The Secretary shall, pursuant to section 301 
        of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241), issue 
        regulations requiring each State to collect and report data on 
        confirmed cases of C.diff to the Secretary.
            (2) Reporting entities.--Any entity required to submit 
        information to the Secretary, pursuant to such section 301, 
        with respect to cases of a nationally notifiable disease or 
        condition, including a health care facility or laboratory, 
        shall submit such information to the Secretary with respect to 
        cases of C.diff. 
            (3) Data elements.--The Secretary shall establish 
        standardized data elements, including demographic information, 
        clinical information, and laboratory results, for the reporting 
        of cases of C.diff under this subsection.
    (c) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the application 
thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder 
of the Act and the application of the provisions to other persons or 
circumstances shall not be affected. 
    (d) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' means each 
of the several States, the District of Columbia, each territory or 
possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian 
Tribe.
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