Family Asthma Act

Summary:  Family Asthma Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to collaborate with state and local health departments to: (1) conduct activities regarding asthma, including deterring the harmful consequences of uncontrolled asthma, and disseminating health education and information regarding prevention of asthma episodes and strategies for managing asthma; and (2) develop state plans incorporating public health responses to reduce the burden of asthma, particularly regarding disproportionately affected populations.  Revises and expands requirements for asthma surveillance activities.  Requires the CDC to coordinate data collection activities to maximize the comparability of results. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to submit an assessment of current activities related to asthma prevention, management, and surveillance along with recommendations for the future direction of asthma activities.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Family Asthma Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The number of people ever diagnosed with asthma 
        increased by 50 percent between 1998 and 2012. According to the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2012 more than 
        25,500,000 Americans had been diagnosed with asthma, including 
        an estimated 6,800,000 children.
            (2) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, in 2010 more than 3,400 Americans died from asthma. 
        The rate of mortality from asthma is higher among African 
        Americans and women.
            (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 
        that asthma accounted for approximately 480,000 
        hospitalizations and 2,100,000 visits to hospital emergency 
        departments in 2009.
            (4) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the annual cost of asthma to the United States is 
        approximately $56,000,000,000, including $5,900,000,000 in 
        indirect costs from lost productivity.
            (5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, 10,500,000 school days and 14,200,000 work days are 
        missed annually as a result of asthma.
            (6) Asthma episodes can be triggered by both outdoor air 
        pollution and indoor air pollution, including pollutants such 
        as cigarette smoke and combustion by-products. Asthma episodes 
        can also be triggered by indoor allergens such as animal dander 
        and outdoor allergens such as pollen and molds.
            (7) Public health interventions and medical care in 
        accordance with existing guidelines have been proven effective 
        in the treatment and management of asthma. Better asthma 
        management could reduce the numbers of emergency department 
        visits and hospitalizations due to asthma. Studies published in 
        medical journals have shown that better asthma management 
        results in improved asthma outcomes at a lower cost.
            (8) In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        reported that less than half of people with asthma had been 
        taught how to avoid asthma triggers. More education about 
        triggers, proper treatment, and asthma management methods is 
        needed.
            (9) The alarming rise in the prevalence of asthma, its 
        adverse effect on school attendance and productivity, and its 
        cost for hospitalizations and emergency room visits, highlight 
        the importance of public health interventions, including 
        increasing awareness of asthma as a chronic illness, its 
        symptoms, the role of both indoor and outdoor environmental 
        factors that exacerbate the disease, and other factors that 
        affect its exacerbations and severity. The goals of the Federal 
        Government and its partners in the nonprofit and private 
        sectors should include reducing the number and severity of 
        asthma attacks, asthma's financial burden, and the health 
        disparities associated with asthma.
            (10) The high health and financial burden caused by asthma 
        underscores the importance of adherence to the National Asthma 
        Education and Prevention Guidelines of the National Heart, 
        Lung, and Blood Institute. Increasing adherence to guidelines-
        based care and resulting patient management practices will 
        enhance the quality of life for patients with asthma and 
        decrease asthma-related morbidity and mortality.

SEC. 3. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 
              AND PREVENTION.

    Section 317I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-10) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 317I. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE 
              CONTROL AND PREVENTION.

    ``(a) Program for Providing Information and Education to the 
Public.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, shall collaborate with State and local 
health departments to conduct activities, including the provision of 
information and education to the public regarding asthma including--
            ``(1) deterring the harmful consequences of uncontrolled 
        asthma; and
            ``(2) disseminating health education and information 
        regarding prevention of asthma episodes and strategies for 
        managing asthma.
    ``(b) Development of State Asthma Plans.--The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
shall collaborate with State and local health departments to develop 
State plans incorporating public health responses to reduce the burden 
of asthma, particularly regarding disproportionately affected 
populations.
    ``(c) Compilation of Data.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall, in 
cooperation with State and local public health officials--
            ``(1) conduct asthma surveillance activities to collect 
        data on the prevalence and severity of asthma, the 
        effectiveness of public health asthma interventions, and the 
        quality of asthma management, including--
                    ``(A) collection of household data on the local 
                burden of asthma;
                    ``(B) surveillance of health care facilities; and
                    ``(C) collection of data not containing 
                individually identifiable information from electronic 
                health records or other electronic communications;
            ``(2) compile and annually publish data regarding the 
        prevalence and incidence of childhood asthma, the child 
        mortality rate, and the number of hospital admissions and 
        emergency department visits by children associated with asthma 
        nationally and in each State and at the county level by age, 
        sex, race, and ethnicity, as well as lifetime and current 
        prevalence; and
            ``(3) compile and annually publish data regarding the 
        prevalence and incidence of adult asthma, the adult mortality 
        rate, and the number of hospital admissions and emergency 
        department visits by adults associated with asthma nationally 
        and in each State and at the county level by age, sex, race, 
        ethnicity, industry, and occupation, as well as lifetime and 
        current prevalence.
    ``(d) Coordination of Data Collection.--The Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with State and local 
health departments, shall coordinate data collection activities under 
subsection (c)(2) so as to maximize the comparability of results.
    ``(e) Collaboration.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention are encouraged to collaborate with national, State, 
        and local nonprofit organizations to provide information and 
        education about asthma, and to strengthen such collaborations 
        when possible.
            ``(2) Specific activities.--The Division of Adolescent and 
        School Health is encouraged to expand its activities with non-
        Federal partners, especially State-level entities.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $65,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2016 through 2020.
    ``(g) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation 
        with patient groups, nonprofit organizations, medical 
        societies, and other relevant governmental and nongovernmental 
        entities, submit to Congress a report that--
                    ``(A) catalogs, with respect to asthma prevention, 
                management, and surveillance--
                            ``(i) the activities of the Federal 
                        Government, including an assessment of the 
                        progress of the Federal Government and States, 
                        with respect to achieving the goals of the 
                        Healthy People 2020 initiative; and
                            ``(ii) the activities of other entities 
                        that participate in the program under this 
                        section, including nonprofit organizations, 
                        patient advocacy groups, and medical societies; 
                        and
                    ``(B) makes recommendations for the future 
                direction of asthma activities, in consultation with 
                researchers from the National Institutes of Health and 
                other member bodies of the National Asthma Education 
                and Prevention Program who are qualified to review and 
                analyze data and evaluate interventions, including--
                            ``(i) a description of how the Federal 
                        Government may improve its response to asthma, 
                        including identifying any barriers that may 
                        exist;
                            ``(ii) a description of how the Federal 
                        Government may continue, expand, and improve 
                        its private-public partnerships with respect to 
                        asthma, including identifying any barriers that 
                        may exist;
                            ``(iii) the identification of steps that 
                        may be taken to reduce the--
                                    ``(I) morbidity, mortality, and 
                                overall prevalence of asthma;
                                    ``(II) financial burden of asthma 
                                on society;
                                    ``(III) burden of asthma on 
                                disproportionately affected areas, 
                                particularly those in medically 
                                underserved populations (as defined in 
                                section 330(b)(3)); and
                                    ``(IV) burden of asthma as a 
                                chronic disease;
                            ``(iv) the identification of programs and 
                        policies that have achieved the steps described 
                        under clause (iii), and steps that may be taken 
                        to expand such programs and policies to benefit 
                        larger populations; and
                            ``(v) recommendations for future research 
                        and interventions.
            ``(2) Updates to congress.--
                    ``(A) Congressional request.--During the 5-year 
                period following the submission of the report under 
                paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit updates and 
                revisions of the report upon the request of the 
                Congress.
                    ``(B) Five-year reevaluation.--At the end of the 5-
                year period following the submission of the report 
                under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall evaluate the 
                analyses and recommendations made under such report and 
                determine whether a new report to the Congress is 
                necessary, and make appropriate recommendations to the 
                Congress.''.