IB 

Union Calendar No. 18 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 20 

[Report No. 111–48] 

To provide for research on, and services for individuals with, postpartum 

depression and psychosis. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. FARR, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BACA, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

MARCH 23, 2009 

Additional sponsors: Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. FILNER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MARKEY of 

Massachusetts, and Ms. SUTTON

MARCH 23, 2009 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 6, 2009] 

A BILL 

To provide for research on, and services for individuals with, 

postpartum depression and psychosis. 


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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 ‘‘Melanie Blocker Stokes 

5 Mom’s Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, 

6 and Support for Postpartum Depression Act’’ or the 

7 ‘‘Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For purposes of this Act— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘postpartum condition’’ means 

11 postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis; and 

12 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services. 

14 TITLE I—RESEARCH ON 

15 POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS 

16 SEC. 101. EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF ACTIVI17 TIES. 

18 (a) CONTINUATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary is 

19 encouraged to continue activities on postpartum conditions. 

20 (b) PROGRAMS FOR POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS.—In 

21 carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary is encouraged to 

22 continue research to expand the understanding of the causes 

23 of, and treatments for, postpartum conditions. Activities 

24 under such subsection shall include conducting and sup25 porting the following: 


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1 (1) Basic research concerning the etiology and 

2 causes of the conditions. 

3 (2) Epidemiological studies to address the fre4 quency and natural history of the conditions and the 

5 differences among racial and ethnic groups with re6 spect to the conditions. 

7 (3) The development of improved screening and 

8 diagnostic techniques. 

9 (4) Clinical research for the development and 

10 evaluation of new treatments. 

11 (5) Information and education programs for 

12 health care professionals and the public, which may 

13 include a coordinated national campaign to increase 

14 the awareness and knowledge of postpartum condi15 tions. Activities under such a national campaign 

16 may— 

17 (A) include public service announcements 

18 through television, radio, and other means; and 

19 (B) focus on— 

20 (i) raising awareness about screening; 

21 (ii) educating new mothers and their 

22 families about postpartum conditions to 

23 promote earlier diagnosis and treatment; 

24 and 


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1 (iii) ensuring that such education in2 cludes complete information concerning 

3 postpartum conditions, including its symp4 toms, methods of coping with the illness, 

5 and treatment resources. 

6 SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LONGITUDINAL 

7 STUDY OF RELATIVE MENTAL HEALTH CON8 SEQUENCES FOR WOMEN OF RESOLVING A 

9 PREGNANCY. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

11 that the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health 

12 may conduct a nationally representative longitudinal study 

13 (during the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2018) of 

14 the relative mental health consequences for women of resolv15 ing a pregnancy (intended and unintended) in various 

16 ways, including carrying the pregnancy to term and par17 enting the child, carrying the pregnancy to term and plac18 ing the child for adoption, miscarriage, and having an 

19 abortion. This study may assess the incidence, timing, mag20 nitude, and duration of the immediate and long-term men21 tal health consequences (positive or negative) of these preg22 nancy outcomes. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Beginning not later than 3 years after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically there25 after for the duration of the study, such Director may preVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:29 Mar 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H20.RH H20

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1 pare and submit to the Congress reports on the findings 

2 of the study. 

3 TITLE II—DELIVERY OF SERV4 ICES REGARDING 

5 POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS 

6 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 Subpart I of part D of title III of the Public Health 

8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by inserting 

9 after section 330G the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 330G–1. SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH A 

11 POSTPARTUM CONDITION AND THEIR FAMI12 LIES. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

14 to eligible entities for projects for the establishment, oper15 ation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient sys16 tems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with 

17 a postpartum condition and their families. 

18 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—To the extent practicable 

19 and appropriate, the Secretary shall ensure that projects 

20 funded under subsection (a) provide education and services 

21 with respect to the diagnosis and management of 

22 postpartum conditions. The Secretary may allow such 

23 projects to include the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) Delivering or enhancing outpatient and 

25 home-based health and support services, including 


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1 case management and comprehensive treatment serv2 ices for individuals with or at risk for postpartum 

3 conditions, and delivering or enhancing support serv4 ices for their families. 

5 ‘‘(2) Delivering or enhancing inpatient care 

6 management services that ensure the well-being of the 

7 mother and family and the future development of the 

8 infant. 

9 ‘‘(3) Improving the quality, availability, and or10 ganization of health care and support services (in11 cluding transportation services, attendant care, home12 maker services, day or respite care, and providing 

13 counseling on financial assistance and insurance) for 

14 individuals with a postpartum condition and support 

15 services for their families. 

16 ‘‘(4) Providing education to new mothers and, as 

17 appropriate, their families about postpartum condi18 tions to promote earlier diagnosis and treatment. 

19 Such education may include— 

20 ‘‘(A) providing complete information on 

21 postpartum conditions, symptoms, methods of 

22 coping with the illness, and treatment resources; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grantee that is a State, 

25 hospital, or birthing facility— 


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1 ‘‘(i) providing education to new moth2 ers and fathers, and other family members 

3 as appropriate, concerning postpartum con4 ditions before new mothers leave the health 

5 facility; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) ensuring that training programs 

7 regarding such education are carried out at 

8 the health facility. 

9 ‘‘(c) INTEGRATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—To the 

10 extent practicable and appropriate, the Secretary may inte11 grate the grant program under this section with other grant 

12 programs carried out by the Secretary, including the pro13 gram under section 330. 

14 ‘‘(d) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—A grant may be 

15 made under this section only if the applicant involved 

16 makes the following agreements: 

17 ‘‘(1) Not more than 5 percent of the grant will 

18 be used for administration, accounting, reporting, 

19 and program oversight functions. 

20 ‘‘(2) The grant will be used to supplement and 

21 not supplant funds from other sources related to the 

22 treatment of postpartum conditions. 

23 ‘‘(3) The applicant will abide by any limitations 

24 deemed appropriate by the Secretary on any charges 

25 to individuals receiving services pursuant to the 


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1 grant. As deemed appropriate by the Secretary, such 

2 limitations on charges may vary based on the finan3 cial circumstances of the individual receiving services. 

4 ‘‘(4) The grant will not be expended to make 

5 payment for services authorized under subsection (a) 

6 to the extent that payment has been made, or can rea7 sonably be expected to be made, with respect to such 

8 services— 

9 ‘‘(A) under any State compensation pro10 gram, under an insurance policy, or under any 

11 Federal or State health benefits program; or 

12 ‘‘(B) by an entity that provides health serv13 ices on a prepaid basis. 

14 ‘‘(5) The applicant will, at each site at which the 

15 applicant provides services funded under subsection 

16 (a), post a conspicuous notice informing individuals 

17 who receive the services of any Federal policies that 

18 apply to the applicant with respect to the imposition 

19 of charges on such individuals. 

20 ‘‘(6) For each grant period, the applicant will 

21 submit to the Secretary a report that describes how 

22 grant funds were used during such period. 

23 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

24 provide technical assistance to entities seeking a grant 


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1 under this section in order to assist such entities in com2 plying with the requirements of this section. 

3 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible entity’ means a public or 

5 nonprofit private entity, which may include a State 

6 or local government; a public or nonprofit private re7 cipient of a grant under section 330H (relating to the 

8 Healthy Start Initiative), public-private partnership, 

9 hospital, community-based organization, hospice, am10 bulatory care facility, community health center, mi11 grant health center, public housing primary care cen12 ter, or homeless health center; or any other appro13 priate public or nonprofit private entity. 

14 ‘‘(2) The term ‘postpartum condition’ means 

15 postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis.’’. 

16 TITLE III—GENERAL 

17 PROVISIONS 

18 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 To carry out this Act and the amendment made by 

20 section 201, there are authorized to be appropriated, in ad21 dition to such other sums as may be available for such pur22 pose— 

23 (1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

24 (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

25 years 2010 and 2011. 


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1 SEC. 302. REPORT BY THE SECRETARY. 

2 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study on 

3 the benefits of screening for postpartum conditions. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete 

6 the study required by subsection (a) and submit a report 

7 to the Congress on the results of such study. 

8 SEC. 303. LIMITATION. 

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or the 

10 amendment made by section 201, the Secretary may not 

11 utilize amounts made available under this Act or such 

12 amendment to carry out activities or programs that are du13 plicative of activities or programs that are already being 

14 carried out through the Department of Health and Human 

15 Services. 


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Union Calendar No. 18 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 20 

[Report No. 111–48] 

A BILL 

To provide for research on, and services for individuals with, postpartum depression and psychosis. 

MARCH 23, 2009 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


smartinez on PRODPC75 with BILLS