[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86938-86939]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28971]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Service Administration


Updates to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule

AGENCY: Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Effective December 28, 2020, HRSA accepted a recommended 
update to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule, a HRSA-supported 
guideline for infants, children and adolescents, for purposes of health 
insurance coverage without cost sharing under the Public Health Service 
(PHS) Act. The update includes screening for Hepatitis C Virus 
Infection for individuals ages 18 to 21. Please see https://mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-topics/child-health/bright-futures.html for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bethany D. Miller, MSW, M.Ed., HRSA/
Maternal and Child Health Bureau by calling (301) 495-5156 or by 
emailing at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e8aaa58184848d9aa8809a9b89c68f879e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e8aaa58184848d9aa8809a9b89c68f879e">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bright Futures program has been funded 
by HRSA since 1990. A primary focus of this program is for the funding 
recipient to maintain and update the Bright Futures Guidelines for 
Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents, a set of 
materials and tools that provide theory-based and evidence-driven 
guidance for all preventive care screenings and well-child visits. One 
component of these tools is the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule, a 
chart that identifies the recommended screenings, assessments, physical 
examinations, and procedures to be delivered within preventive checkups 
at each age milestone. Over the program's existence, the Bright Futures 
Periodicity Schedule has become the accepted schedule within the United 
States for preventive health services through the course of a child's 
development.
    Section 2713 of the PHS Act requires that non-grandfathered group 
health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual 
health insurance coverage provide coverage without cost sharing for 
certain preventive health services in four identified areas. Section 
2713(a)(3) describes such services for infants, children, and 
adolescents as ``evidence-informed preventive care and screenings 
provided for in the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health 
Resources and Services Administration.'' HHS, along with the 
Departments of Treasury and Labor, issued an Interim Final Rule on July 
19, 2010, (75 FR 41726-41760) that identified two specific resources as 
the comprehensive guidelines supported by HRSA for infants, children, 
and adolescents to be covered by insurance without cost sharing by non-
grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers: (1) The 
Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule and (2) the Recommended Uniform 
Screening Panel of the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in 
Newborns and Children. The Interim Final Rule provided that a future 
change to these comprehensive guidelines is considered to be issued for 
purposes of Section 2713 on the date on which it is accepted by the 
HRSA Administrator or, if applicable, adopted by the Secretary of HHS.
    On December 28, 2020, the HRSA Administrator accepted the 
recommended update to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule. The 
Bright Futures recommendation included both a recommended clinical 
practice update and revisions to the footnotes on the Bright Futures 
Periodicity Schedule. The update includes screening for Hepatitis C 
Virus Infection for individuals age 18 to 21. The footnote revisions 
are applied to footnote 11 (Developmental Screening); footnote 12 
(Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening) to update the title of the 
relevant revised policy statements and the electronic hyperlinks; and a 
new footnote referring to the supporting evidence for the 
recommendation for screening for hepatitis C virus infection. 
Therefore, all non-grandfathered group health plans and health 
insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance 
coverage must cover without cost-sharing the services and screenings 
listed on the updated Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule for plan 
years (in the individual market, policy years) beginning on or after 
December 28, 2021.
    The updated Bright Futures Periodicity schedule can be accessed at 
the following link: https://

[[Page 86939]]

mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-topics/child-health/bright-
futures.html.

Thomas J. Engels,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-28971 Filed 12-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P


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