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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2457 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2457

  To provide for a national public outreach and education campaign to 
          raise public awareness of women's preventive health.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2013

   Mr. Bera of California (for himself, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Lee of 
   California, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Moore, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. 
   Speier, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Payne, Ms. Brownley of 
  California, Ms. Titus, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mrs. Capps, Mr. 
Grijalva, Mr. Conyers, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Roybal-
 Allard, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Levin, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Pingree of Maine, 
Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Honda, Ms. Hahn, Ms. Linda T. 
 Sanchez of California, Mr. Farr, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Costa, Mrs. Negrete 
 McLeod, Mr. Perlmutter, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Cardenas, and Mr. McDermott) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To provide for a national public outreach and education campaign to 
          raise public awareness of women's preventive health.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Preventive Health Awareness 
Campaign''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Well-woman visits are the foundation on which women's 
        preventive care is built. Such visits include not only specific 
        screening tests, but also a medical history, physical 
        examination, evaluation and counseling, and, as indicated, 
        vaccinations.
            (2) Over the past 20 years, it has become clear that ``one 
        size does not fit all'' when it comes to prevention. Although a 
        30-year-old woman without risk factors for cervical cancer may 
        only need a Pap test with HPV co-testing every 5 years, the 
        same woman would need more frequent screening if she were 
        infected with HIV or had a history of cervical cancer 
        precursors.
            (3) It is only after taking a medical history and 
        evaluating and counseling a patient that a physician can make 
        patient-specific recommendations for screening tests, 
        vaccinations, preventive medications, and other preventive 
        services.
            (4) Well-woman visits facilitate increased access to health 
        care that is shown to identify chronic disease risk factors, 
        promote well-being, and decrease the likelihood or delay the 
        onset of a targeted disease or condition.
            (5) Heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular 
        diseases are the number one cause of death in American women, 
        claiming over 400,000 lives each year, or nearly one death each 
        minute.
            (6) Women are less likely than men to receive aggressive 
        diagnosis and treatment for cardiovascular diseases.
            (7) Women are more likely than men to have forgone needed 
        health care due to cost.
            (8) Between 2002 and 2010, screening mammography rates 
        among women in the United States who were 50 years of age to 64 
        years of age declined from about 79 percent to 73 percent.
            (9) In 2009, only 53 percent of 18- to 64-year-olds in the 
        United States reported having ever received an HIV test.
            (10) The proportion of women in the United States 22 years 
        of age to 30 years of age who reported never having had a Pap 
        test increased from 6.6 percent in 2000 to 9.0 percent in 2010 
        despite current recommendations that they receive a Pap test 
        every three years.
            (11) In 2007, 29.3 percent of women in the United States 
        delivering a live birth did not receive any prenatal care in 
        the first trimester, even though first trimester prenatal care 
        is recommended.
            (12) Among sexually active females in the United States who 
        are 16 years of age to 20 years of age, only 52.7 percent of 
        such females receiving benefits under the Medicaid program and 
        40.1 percent of such females with health insurance coverage 
        under commercial health insurance plans were screened for 
        genital Chlamydia infections during the measurement year, as 
        reported in 2008. A 2013 analysis published by the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention found that for Chlamydia cases 
        diagnosed in 2008 alone, the associated lifetime direct medical 
        costs amount to $516.7 million.
            (13) Almost half (49 percent) of the 6.7 million 
        pregnancies in the United States each year (3.2 million) are 
        unintended. Multiple studies have shown that improved access to 
        birth control significantly improves the health of women and 
        their families, as it is directly linked to improved maternal 
        and infant health outcomes. Women that plan their pregnancies 
        are more likely to access prenatal care, improving their own 
        health and the health of their children.
            (14) Between 2006 and 2010, one-third of all pregnancies 
        were conceived within 18 months of a previous birth, an 
        interval that is potentially harmful to the health of the 
        mother.
            (15) Improved access to family planning also saves money. 
        For every $1.00 invested in family planning, taxpayers save 
        nearly $4.00 in Medicaid-related expenses.
            (16) During the 2011-2012 flu season, 53 percent of 
        pregnant women did not receive recommended vaccination against 
        influenza.

SEC. 3. WOMEN'S PREVENTIVE HEALTH AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g et al.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 399V-6. WOMEN'S PREVENTIVE HEALTH AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide for the planning and 
implementation of a national public outreach and education campaign to 
raise public awareness, including provider awareness, of women's 
preventive health. Such campaign shall include the media campaign under 
subsection (b) and the website under subsection (c) and shall provide 
for the dissemination of information that--
            ``(1) describes the guidelines for women's preventive 
        services, including the cervical cancer recommendations updated 
        in 2012, by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, 
        by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 
        (ACOG), and by the American Cancer Society, the American 
        Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and the American 
        Society for Clinical Pathology;
            ``(2) promotes well-woman visits for health assessments 
        which include screenings, evaluations, counseling, 
        immunizations, and prenatal visits, as appropriate;
            ``(3) explains the women's preventive services that are 
        required under section 2713 to be covered without cost-sharing 
        by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering 
        group or individual health insurance coverage that is not a 
        grandfathered plan (as defined in section 1251(e) of the 
        Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act); and
            ``(4) addresses health disparities in the area of women's 
        prevention.
    ``(b) Media Campaign.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, as part of the campaign under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish and implement a 
        national media campaign.
            ``(2) Requirement of campaign.--The campaign implemented 
        under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall disseminate information about the 
                updated guidelines for women's preventive services 
                described in subsection (a)(1), promote well-woman 
                visits described in subsection (a)(2), and provide 
                information on the women's preventive services 
                described in subsection (a)(3); and
                    ``(B) may include the use of television, radio, 
                Internet, and other commercial marketing venues.
    ``(c) Website.--As part of the campaign under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall, in consultation with private sector experts or through 
contract with a private entity including a medical association or non-
profit organization, maintain and update an Internet website to provide 
information and resources about the updated guidelines for women's 
preventive services described in subsection (a)(1), promote well-woman 
visits, and provide information on the women's preventive services 
described in subsection (a)(3).
    ``(d) Funding.--The Secretary may use, out of any funds otherwise 
made available to the Department of Health and Human Services, such 
sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.''.
                                 <all>
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