What This Bill Does
This bill requires states to report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to receive certain federal Medicaid payments. The bill creates a standardized system for collecting and publishing abortion information nationwide, and establishes which abortion data points states must report.
Who It Affects
States and the District of Columbia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, individuals receiving family planning services through Medicaid, and state health agencies that collect abortion data.
Key Provisions
• States must submit abortion data to the CDC's abortion surveillance system (a system for tracking health information) by December 31 each year or lose federal Medicaid payments for family planning services. (Sec. 3)
• The CDC must create a standardized worksheet that includes questions about maternal age, gestational age (how far along the pregnancy was), maternal race and ethnicity, abortion method type, marital status, previous pregnancies, and whether the child survived the abortion. (Sec. 4)
• States must certify that their abortion data is accurate when submitting reports to the CDC. (Sec. 3)
• States that knowingly submit false abortion data may lose federal Medicaid payments for family planning services for one full fiscal year (a 12-month period for government spending). (Sec. 3)
• The CDC must publish an annual report on abortion data collected from states. (Sec. 4)
What Changes
Currently states voluntarily report abortion data to the CDC, meaning some states report incomplete information or no information at all. This bill makes abortion data reporting mandatory for states that receive federal Medicaid funding for family planning services.
Important Definitions
• Medicaid: a federal program that pays for health care services for low-income individuals
• Family planning services: reproductive health care services
• Gestational age: how far along a pregnancy is measured in completed weeks
Effective Date
The requirement for states to submit abortion data takes effect two years after the bill becomes law. (Sec. 3)
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 15
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act and the Public Health Service
Act to improve the reporting of abortion data to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023
Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mr. LANKFORD, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mrs. BLACK-
BURN, Mr. DAINES, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr.
HAWLEY, Mr. COTTON, Mr. SCOTT
of Florida, Mr. BRAUN, Mr.
HAGERTY, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. VANCE, and Mr. THUNE) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Fi-
nance
A BILL
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act and the
Public Health Service Act to improve the reporting of
abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Ensuring Accurate and
4
Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2023’’.
5
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress finds the following:
2
(1) Reporting abortion data has been voluntary
3
in the past, which has not resulted in complete data
4
being submitted to the Centers for Disease Control
5
and Prevention.
6
(2) While the Centers for Disease Control and
7
Prevention requests specific data points from each
8
State and the District of Columbia, there is a great
9
variety in the information collected and published by
10
the States.
11
(3) In fact, there is not a single abortion data
12
point publicly reported for all 50 States and the Dis-
13
trict of Columbia.
14
(4) Even more alarming, 3 States that together
15
account for 15 percent of the United States popu-
16
lation of women of childbearing age do not report
17
any abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control
18
and Prevention.
19
(5) Accurate statistical data regarding abortion
20
and those who survive abortion attempts is critical
21
to public health and policy analysis.
22
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SEC. 3. MEDICAID PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN FAMILY PLAN-
1
NING SERVICES AND SUPPLIES CONTINGENT
2
ON SUBMISSION OF ABORTION DATA TO CDC.
3
Section 1903 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
4
1396b) is amended—
5
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting before ‘‘an
6
amount equal to’’ the following: ‘‘subject to sub-
7
section (cc),’’; and
8
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
9
section:
10
‘‘(cc) ANNUAL REPORTS ON ABORTION DATA.—
11
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
12
as a condition of receiving payment under subsection
13
(a)(5) with respect to any amount expended during
14
a year (beginning with the year following 2 years
15
after the date of the enactment of this subsection)
16
for family planning services and supplies described
17
in section 1905(a)(4)(C) furnished to an individual
18
described in section 1902(ii) or an individual whose
19
medical assistance under this title is limited to such
20
services and supplies furnished pursuant to a waiver
21
granted under section 1115, each State shall, by not
22
later than December 31 of the previous year, submit
23
to the abortion surveillance system of the Centers
24
for Disease Control and Prevention, with respect to
25
the year before the previous year, at least abortion
26
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•S 15 IS
data regarding the mandatory questions described in
1
section 317V(a)(3)(A) of the Public Health Service
2
Act.
3
‘‘(2) LATE SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—With re-
4
spect to a year, in the case of a State that does not
5
submit by December 31 of the previous year the
6
abortion data required under paragraph (1) with re-
7
spect to the year before the previous year but sub-
8
mits such data by December 31 of the year, such
9
State shall continue to receive payment, including
10
retroactive payment, under subsection (a)(5) with
11
respect to any amount expended during the year for
12
family planning services and supplies described in
13
section 1905(a)(4)(C) furnished to an individual de-
14
scribed in such paragraph.
15
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF ABORTION DATA.—
16
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each
17
submission of abortion data under this sub-
18
section, a State shall certify to the Director of
19
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
20
that such data is accurate.
21
‘‘(B) FALSE INFORMATION.—In the case
22
that the Director of the Centers for Disease
23
Control and Prevention determines that a State
24
has knowingly provided false information with
25
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•S 15 IS
respect to a submission of abortion data under
1
this subsection, such State may not receive pay-
2
ment under subsection (a)(5) with respect to
3
any amount expended during the first full fiscal
4
year following such determination for family
5
planning services and supplies described in sec-
6
tion 1905(a)(4)(C) furnished to an individual
7
described in paragraph (1).’’.
8
SEC. 4. COLLECTION OF ABORTION DATA BY CDC.
9
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act
10
(42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec-
11
tion 317V the following:
12
‘‘SEC. 317W. ABORTION DATA.
13
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through
14
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
15
vention, shall—
16
‘‘(1) maintain a surveillance system to collect
17
aggregate data in a standardized format on abor-
18
tions in the United States;
19
‘‘(2) as part of such system, create a standard
20
worksheet to collect data from States on abortions in
21
the respective States, which—
22
‘‘(A) shall, at a minimum, include ques-
23
tions on the variables listed in subsection (b), to
24
be treated as mandatory questions for purposes
25
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•S 15 IS
of section 1903(cc) of the Social Security Act;
1
and
2
‘‘(B) may include such additional questions
3
on abortion as the Secretary determines to be
4
appropriate, to be treated as voluntary ques-
5
tions;
6
‘‘(3) as part of such system, allow for cross-tab-
7
ulation of the variables listed in subsection (b), in-
8
cluding cross-tabulation of maternal age by gesta-
9
tional age; race and ethnicity by gestational age;
10
type of abortion procedure by gestational age; race
11
and ethnicity by maternal age; and race and eth-
12
nicity by marital status; and
13
‘‘(4) periodically update the questions in the
14
worksheet under paragraph (2), including the classi-
15
fication of such questions as mandatory or vol-
16
untary.
17
‘‘(b) VARIABLES.—The variables listed in this sub-
18
section are the following:
19
‘‘(1) Maternal age in years.
20
‘‘(2) Gestational age in completed weeks at the
21
time of abortion.
22
‘‘(3) Maternal race.
23
‘‘(4) Maternal ethnicity.
24
‘‘(5) Maternal race by ethnicity.
25
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•S 15 IS
‘‘(6) The abortion method type.
1
‘‘(7) Maternal marital status.
2
‘‘(8) Previous pregnancies of the mother, in-
3
cluding the number of previous live births, the num-
4
ber of previous induced abortions, and the number
5
of previous spontaneous abortions.
6
‘‘(9) Maternal residence (limited to county and
7
State).
8
‘‘(10) Whether the child survived the abortion.
9
‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall
10
provide technical assistance to States to facilitate and im-
11
prove the reporting of data to the system under subsection
12
(a).
13
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORTING.—The Secretary shall—
14
‘‘(1) issue an annual report on abortion, which
15
shall include the data collected pursuant to this sec-
16
tion; and
17
‘‘(2) publish such report not later than Decem-
18
ber 30 of the third calendar year following the cal-
19
endar year covered by the report.’’.
20
Æ
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