Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4801 To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Healthy Start program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Mr. RYAN (for himself, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, and Mr. STIVERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Healthy Start program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Start Reau- 4 thorization Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HEALTHY START PROGRAM. 6 Section 330H of the Public Health Service Act (42 7 U.S.C. 254c–8) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a)— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4801 IH (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, during 1 fiscal year 2001 and subsequent years,’’; and 2 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or in- 3 creasing above the national average’’ after 4 ‘‘areas with high’’; 5 (2) in subsection (b)— 6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘con- 7 sumers of project services, public health depart- 8 ments, hospitals, health centers under section 9 330’’ and inserting ‘‘participants and former 10 participants of project services, public health 11 departments, hospitals, health centers under 12 section 330, State substance abuse agencies’’; 13 and 14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 15 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 16 ‘‘such as low birthweight’’ and inserting 17 ‘‘including poor birth outcomes (such as 18 low birthweight and preterm birth) and so- 19 cial determinants of health’’; 20 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 21 (B) as subparagraph (C); 22 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 23 (A), the following: 24 ‘‘(B) Communities with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4801 IH ‘‘(i) high rates of infant mortality or 1 poor perinatal outcomes; or 2 ‘‘(ii) high rates of infant mortality or 3 poor perinatal outcomes in specific sub- 4 populations within the community.’’; and 5 (iv) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes- 6 ignated)— 7 (I) by redesignating clauses (i) 8 and (ii) as clauses (ii) and (iii), re- 9 spectively; 10 (II) by inserting before clause (ii) 11 (as so redesignated) the following: 12 ‘‘(i) collaboration with the local com- 13 munity in the development of the project;’’; 14 (III) in clause (ii) (as so redesig- 15 nated), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 16 (IV) in clause (iii) (as so redesig- 17 nated), by striking the period and in- 18 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 19 (V) by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(iv) the use and collection of data 22 demonstrating the effectiveness of such 23 program in decreasing infant mortality 24 rates and improving perinatal outcomes, as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4801 IH applicable, or the process by which new ap- 1 plicants plan to collect this data.’’; 2 (3) in subsection (c)— 3 (A) by striking ‘‘Recipients of grants’’ and 4 inserting the following: 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Recipients of grants’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(2) OTHER PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall 8 ensure coordination of the program carried out pur- 9 suant to this section with other programs and activi- 10 ties related to the reduction of the rate of infant 11 mortality and improved perinatal and infant health 12 outcomes supported by the Department.’’; 13 (4) in subsection (e)— 14 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘appro- 15 priated—’’ and all that follows through the end 16 and inserting ‘‘appropriated $135,000,000 for 17 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’; and 18 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by adding at the 19 end the following: ‘‘Evaluations may also in- 20 clude, to the extent practicable, information re- 21 lated to— 22 ‘‘(i) progress toward achieving any 23 grant metrics or outcomes related to re- 24 ducing infant mortality rates, improving 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4801 IH perinatal outcomes, or reducing the dis- 1 parity in health status; 2 ‘‘(ii) recommendations on potential 3 improvements that may assist with ad- 4 dressing gaps, as applicable and appro- 5 priate; and 6 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the grantee 7 coordinated with the community in which 8 the grantee is located in the development 9 of the project and delivery of services, in- 10 cluding with respect to technical assistance 11 and mentorship programs.’’; and 12 (5) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(f) GAO REPORT.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 15 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 16 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 17 conduct an independent evaluation, and submit to 18 the appropriate Committees of Congress a report, 19 concerning the Healthy Start program under this 20 section. 21 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—In conducting the evalua- 22 tion under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General 23 shall consider, as applicable and appropriate, infor- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4801 IH mation from the evaluations under subsection 1 (e)(2)(B). 2 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The report described in para- 3 graph (1) shall review, assess, and provide rec- 4 ommendations, as appropriate, on the following: 5 ‘‘(A) The allocation of Healthy Start pro- 6 gram grants by the Health Resources and Serv- 7 ices Administration, including considerations 8 made by such Administration regarding dispari- 9 ties in infant mortality or perinatal outcomes 10 among urban and rural areas in making such 11 awards. 12 ‘‘(B) Trends in the progress made toward 13 meeting the evaluation criteria pursuant to sub- 14 section (e)(2)(C), including programs which de- 15 crease infant mortality rates and improve 16 perinatal outcomes, programs that have not de- 17 creased infant mortality rates or improved 18 perinatal outcomes, and programs that have 19 made an impact on disparities in infant mor- 20 tality or perinatal outcomes. 21 ‘‘(C) The ability of grantees to improve 22 health outcomes for project participants, pro- 23 mote the awareness of the Healthy Start pro- 24 gram services, incorporate and promote family 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4801 IH participation, facilitate coordination with the 1 community in which the grantee is located, and 2 increase grantee accountability through quality 3 improvement, performance monitoring, evalua- 4 tion, and the effect such metrics may have to- 5 ward decreasing the rate of infant mortality 6 and improve perinatal outcomes. 7 ‘‘(D) The extent to which such Federal 8 programs are coordinated across agencies and 9 the identification of opportunities for improved 10 coordination in such Federal programs and ac- 11 tivities.’’. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4801.IH H4801 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS