What This Bill Does
This bill requires hospitals that participate in Medicare and provide care for newborns or infants to set up security procedures that prevent infant abduction and baby switching. The bill also makes it a federal crime to intentionally alter or destroy an infant's identification records in a way that causes the infant to be misidentified.
Who It Affects
Hospitals and critical access hospitals (smaller rural hospitals) that receive Medicare payments and provide newborn or infant care. The Secretary of Health and Human Services. Hospital staff who work with newborns and infants.
Key Provisions
• Hospitals participating in Medicare that provide newborn or infant care must have security procedures meeting standards set by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce infant abduction and baby switching, including procedures to identify all infants so it is evident if any are missing (Sec. 2(a)).
• The Secretary must consult with consumer groups, state and local agencies, hospitals and critical access hospitals when writing the rules, and must consider differences in hospital size and location (Sec. 2(b)(1)).
• The Secretary must publish the required regulations within 12 months of this law taking effect, and may use interim rules while waiting for public feedback (Sec. 2(b)(2)).
• Hospitals that fail to have required security procedures face civil money penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, or up to $25,000 for hospitals with fewer than 100 beds (Sec. 2(c)).
• Anyone in interstate commerce who knowingly alters or destroys a newborn's identification records intending to cause misidentification can be fined up to $250,000 (for individuals) or $500,000 (for organizations) and imprisoned up to ten years (Sec. 3(a)).
What Changes
Hospitals must create new security procedures to identify infants and prevent their abduction or switching. A new federal crime is created for intentionally destroying or altering infant identification records. Hospitals can lose Medicare payments if they fail to meet the required security standards.
Important Definitions
The bill defines "identification record" as records hospitals keep to help identify newborns, including: footprints, fingerprints or photographs of the newborn; written descriptions of the infant; or identification bracelets or anklets placed on the newborn or the mother by hospital staff (Sec. 3(b)).
Effective Date
The hospital security requirements take effect 18 months after the law is enacted and apply to new or renewed Medicare contracts on or after that date (Sec. 2(d)). The federal crime provisions become effective on the date the law is enacted.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 282
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals reim-
bursed under the Medicare system to establish and implement security
procedures to reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction and baby
switching, including procedures for identifying all infant patients in the
hospital in a manner that ensures that it will be evident if infants
are missing from the hospital.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 11, 2023
Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on
the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require
hospitals reimbursed under the Medicare system to estab-
lish and implement security procedures to reduce the
likelihood of infant patient abduction and baby switching,
including procedures for identifying all infant patients
in the hospital in a manner that ensures that it will
be evident if infants are missing from the hospital.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•HR 282 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Infant Protection and
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Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. MEDICARE PAYMENTS TO HOSPITALS CONTINGENT
4
ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURITY PROCE-
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DURES REGARDING INFANT PATIENT PRO-
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TECTION AND BABY SWITCHING.
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(a)
AGREEMENTS
WITH
HOSPITALS.—Section
8
1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
9
1395cc(a)(1)) is amended—
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(1) in subparagraphs (W) and (X), by moving
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the margin of each subparagraph 2 ems to the left;
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(2) in subparagraph (X), by striking ‘‘and’’ at
13
the end;
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(3) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period
15
at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and
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(4) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) the fol-
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lowing new subparagraph:
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‘‘(Z) in the case of hospitals and critical access
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hospitals that provide neonatal or infant care, to
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have in effect security procedures that meet stand-
21
ards established by the Secretary (in consultation
22
with appropriate organizations) to reduce the likeli-
23
hood of infant patient abduction and baby switching,
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including standards for identifying all infant pa-
25
tients in the hospital in a manner that ensures that
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•HR 282 IH
it will be evident if infants are missing from the hos-
1
pital.’’.
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(b) REGULATIONS.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—In promulgating regulations
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under subparagraph (Z) of section 1866(a)(1) of the
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Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)), as
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added by subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and
7
Human Services shall—
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(A) consult with various organizations rep-
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resenting consumers, appropriate State and
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local regulatory agencies, hospitals, and critical
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access hospitals;
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(B) take into account variations in size
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and location of hospitals and critical access hos-
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pitals, and the percentage of overall services
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furnished by such hospitals and critical access
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hospitals that neonatal care and infant care
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represent; and
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(C) promulgate specific regulations that
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address each size and type of hospital covered.
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(2) DEADLINE FOR PUBLICATION.—Not later
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than 12 months after the date of the enactment of
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this Act, the Secretary shall publish the regulations
23
required under paragraph (1). In order to carry out
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this requirement in a timely manner, the Secretary
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•HR 282 IH
may promulgate regulations that take effect on an
1
interim basis, after notice and pending opportunity
2
for public comment.
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(c) PENALTIES.—
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(1) AMOUNT
OF
PENALTY.—A hospital that
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participates in the Medicare program under title
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XVIII of the Social Security Act under an agree-
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ment pursuant to section 1866 of such Act (42
8
U.S.C. 1395cc) that commits a violation described in
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paragraph (2) is subject to a civil money penalty of
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not more than $50,000 (or not more than $25,000
11
in the case of a hospital with fewer than 100 beds)
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for each such violation.
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(2) VIOLATION
DESCRIBED.—A hospital de-
14
scribed in paragraph (1) commits a violation for
15
purposes of this subsection if the hospital fails to
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have in effect security procedures that meet stand-
17
ards established by the Secretary of Health and
18
Human Services under section 1866(a)(1)(Z) of
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such Act, as added by subsection (a), to reduce the
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likelihood of infant patient abduction and baby
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switching, including standards for identifying all in-
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fant patients in the hospital in a manner that en-
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sures that it will be evident if infants are missing
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from the hospital.
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•HR 282 IH
(3) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—The provi-
1
sions of section 1128A of such Act (42 U.S.C.
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1320a–7a), other than subsections (a) and (b), shall
3
apply to a civil money penalty under this subsection
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in the same manner as such provisions apply with
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respect to a penalty or proceeding under section
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1128A(a) of such Act.
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(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend-
8
ments made by this section, shall take effect on the date
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that is 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
10
Act, and shall apply to contracts entered into or renewed
11
under section 1866 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
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1395cc) on or after such date.
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SEC. 3. BABY SWITCHING PROHIBITED.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 18, United
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States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
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lowing:
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‘‘SEC. 1205. BABY SWITCHING.
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‘‘(a) Whoever being in interstate commerce knowingly
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alters or destroys an identification record of a newborn
20
patient with the intention that the newborn patient be
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misidentified by any person shall be fined not more than
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$250,000 in the case of an individual and not more than
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$500,000 in the case of an organization, or imprisoned
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not more than ten years, or both.
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•HR 282 IH
‘‘(b) As used in this section, the term ‘identification
1
record’ means a record maintained by a hospital to aid
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in the identification of newborn patients of the hospital,
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including any of the following:
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‘‘(1) The footprint, fingerprint, or photograph
5
of the newborn patient.
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‘‘(2) A written description of the infant.
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‘‘(3) An identification bracelet or anklet put on
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the newborn patient, or the mother of the newborn
9
patient, by a staff member of the hospital.’’.
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
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at the beginning of chapter 55 of title 18, United States
12
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
13
item:
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‘‘1205. Baby switching.’’.
Æ
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