I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3865 

To provide for alternative and updated certification requirements for participation under Medicaid State plans under title XIX of the Social Security 

Act in the case of certain facilities treating infants under one year 

of age with neonatal abstinence syndrome, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 29, 2015 

Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia (for himself, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. 

STIVERS, Mrs. WAGNER, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. POLIQUIN, Mr. 

DOLD, Mr. MACARTHUR, Mr. LANCE, Mr. SALMON, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. 

TIBERI, Mr. JOLLY, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

TURNER, Mr. GUINTA, Mr. BYRNE, Ms. KAPTUR, and Mr. HIMES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide for alternative and updated certification requirements for participation under Medicaid State plans under 

title XIX of the Social Security Act in the case of certain 

facilities treating infants under one year of age with 

neonatal abstinence syndrome, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cradle Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) Neonatal abstinence syndrome (referred to 

4 in this section as ‘‘NAS’’) is a group of conditions 

5 a newborn can have if the newborn was exposed to 

6 drugs, including opioids while in the womb before 

7 birth. 

8 (2) According to a report of the Government 

9 Accountability Office (referred to in this section as 

10 the ‘‘GAO report’’) symptoms of NAS include irrita11 bility, loud crying, stiffness, sweating, vomiting, di12 arrhea, poor feeding, seizures, and respiratory dis13 tress. 

14 (3) According to the GAO report, it is rec15 ommended that newborns with NAS receive a thor16 ough evaluation and specialized and innovative treat17 ment, when warranted. 

18 (4) According to the GAO report, there is a 

19 program gap of available treatment programs for 

20 both pregnant women and newborns with NAS. 

21 (5) According to the GAO report, newborns 

22 with NAS stayed in the hospital on average 16 days 

23 with an average hospital bill of $53,000. 

24 (6) According to GAO reports, NAS has more 

25 than quadrupled in the past decade, increasing from 

26 1.2 per 1,000 hospital births per year in 2000 to 5.8 


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1 per 1,000 hospital births per year in 2012; and some 

2 regional studies have reported much higher 

3 incidences. 

4 (7) Addressing the treatment of infants diag5 nosed with NAS will take innovative, specialized, 

6 and collaborative efforts. 

7 SEC. 3. GUIDELINES FOR CERTIFICATION FOR PARTICIPA8 TION UNDER MEDICAID STATE PLANS OF 

9 CERTAIN FACILITIES TREATING INFANTS 

10 UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE WITH NEONATAL 

11 ABSTINENCE SYNDROME. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

14 Health and Human Services shall establish guidelines, in 

15 accordance with subsection (b), for State agencies and rec16 ognized national listing or accrediting bodies to follow for 

17 purposes of certifying a residential pediatric recovery cen18 ter as qualifying for a provider agreement for participation 

19 under a State plan under the Medicaid program under 

20 title XIX of the Social Security Act. Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law, a residential pediatric recovery cen22 ter may satisfy the requirements set forth in such guide23 lines, in lieu of any comparable requirements otherwise ap24 plicable to such a center for purposes of certification for 

25 participation under such a State plan. 


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1 (b) GUIDELINES DESCRIBED.—The guidelines estab2 lished under subsection (a) shall— 

3 (1) provide for physical environment require4 ments and other necessary requirements specifically 

5 applicable to treating individuals who are under one 

6 year of age with the diagnosis of neonatal abstinence 

7 syndrome without any other significant medical risk 

8 factors; and 

9 (2) take into account that certain physical envi10 ronment requirements, and any other requirements, 

11 needed for centers or facilities treating adults may 

12 not be necessary for centers or facilities treating in13 dividuals described in paragraph (1). 

14 (c) RESIDENTIAL PEDIATRIC RECOVERY CENTER.— 

15 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘residential pediatric 

16 recovery center’’ means a center or facility that furnishes 

17 items and services to infants who are under one year of 

18 age with the diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome 

19 without any other significant medical risk factors and 

20 mothers of such infants. 

21 SEC. 4. STATE LAW LICENSURE OF CERTAIN FACILITIES 

22 SATISFIES CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. 

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

24 case of a State that recognizes and licenses residential pe25 diatric recovery centers (as defined in section 3(c)), such 


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1 a center that is licensed, in accordance with such State 

2 law, shall be treated as satisfying any comparable require3 ments otherwise applicable to such a center for purposes 

4 of certification for participation under the State plan 

5 under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social 

6 Security Act. 

7 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that residential pediatric 

9 recovery centers (as defined in section 3(c)) should offer 

10 counseling and other services to mothers (and other appro11 priate family members and caretakers) of infants receiving 

12 treatment at such centers. Such services may include the 

13 following: 

14 (1) Counseling or referrals for services. 

15 (2) Activities to encourage mother-infant bond16 ing. 

17 (3) Training on caring for such infants. 

18 (4) Activities to encourage transparency of rel19 evant State mandatory reporting requirements. 

Æ 


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