I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3235 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health 

Resources and Services Administration, to make grants to States for 

screening and treatment for maternal depression. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2015 

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself and Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 

the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

Administration, to make grants to States for screening 

and treatment for maternal depression. 

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 ‘‘Bringing Postpartum 

5 Depression Out of the Shadows Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Depression is a medical, physiologic ill2 ness—not a sign of weakness or poor parenting. 

3 (2) Maternal depression includes major and 

4 minor depressive episodes that occur during preg5 nancy or in the first 12 months after delivery. 

6 (3) An estimated 9 to 16 percent of new moth7 ers experience postpartum depression. 

8 (4) Every year, more than 400,000 infants are 

9 born to mothers who have depression, which makes 

10 perinatal depression the most underdiagnosed ob11 stetric complication in the United States. 

12 (5) The consequences of maternal depression 

13 include poor bonding between mother and infant, 

14 which may have negative effects on cognitive devel15 opment, social-emotional development, and behavior 

16 of the child. 

17 (6) Maternal suicide exceeds hemorrhage and 

18 hypertensive disorders as a cause of maternal mor19 tality. 

20 (7) About 90 percent of women who have ma21 ternal depression can be treated successfully with a 

22 combination of medication and counseling. 

23 (8) States and professional organizations are 

24 taking the lead in addressing this problem, through 


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1 public awareness campaigns, resource collection, and 

2 even promoting phone consultations. 

3 (9) The Congress should provide resources to 

4 support State teams, and help them find innovative 

5 solutions to this problem. 

6 SEC. 3. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR MATERNAL DE7 PRESSION. 

8 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert9 ing after section 317L of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–13) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 317L–1. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR MATER12 NAL DEPRESSION. 

13 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through the 

14 Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Ad15 ministration, may make grants to States to establish, ex16 pand, or maintain culturally competent programs for 

17 screening and treatment of women who are pregnant, or 

18 who have given birth within the preceding 12 months, for 

19 maternal depression. 

20 ‘‘(b) NUMBER.—The Secretary shall make grants 

21 under this section to not fewer than 3 States. 

22 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec23 tion, a State shall submit an application to the Secretary 

24 at such time, in such manner, and containing such inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 Jul 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3235.IH H3235

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1 mation as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, any 

2 such application shall include explanations of— 

3 ‘‘(1) how the State’s proposed program will in4 crease the percentage of women screened and treat5 ed for maternal depression in one or more commu6 nities; and 

7 ‘‘(2) how the State’s proposed program, if ex8 panded, would lead to substantial increases in 

9 screening and treatment for maternal depression. 

10 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec11 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to States proposing 

12 to expand or enhance screening for maternal depression 

13 in primary care settings, including family medicine, gen14 eral internal medicine, general pediatrics, preventive medi15 cine, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry. 

16 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—The activities eligible for 

17 funding through a grant under subsection (a)— 

18 ‘‘(1) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(A) providing appropriate training to 

20 health care providers; and 

21 ‘‘(B) providing relevant resources to health 

22 care providers, including information on mater23 nal depression screening, treatment, and fol24 lowup support, and linkages to community25 based resources; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) may include— 

2 ‘‘(A) enabling health care providers (in3 cluding obstetrician-gynecologists, pediatricians, 

4 psychiatrists, mental health care providers, and 

5 adult primary care clinicians) to provide or re6 ceive real-time psychiatric consultation (in-per7 son or remotely) to aid in the treatment of 

8 pregnant and postpartum women; 

9 ‘‘(B) conducting a public awareness cam10 paign; 

11 ‘‘(C) funding start-up costs for phone 

12 lines, websites, the collection and dissemination 

13 of information, and other relevant resources 

14 and services; and 

15 ‘‘(D) establishing linkages with and among 

16 community-based resources, including mental 

17 health resources, primary care resources, and 

18 support groups. 

19 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

20 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro21 priated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

22 2020.’’. 

Æ 


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