I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5492 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to address the use of opioids 

and substance use disorders with respect to pregnant women and babies, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2018 

Mr. GUTHRIE (for himself and Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to address the 

use of opioids and substance use disorders with respect 

to pregnant women and babies, 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 ‘‘Maternal Opioid Treat5 ment, Health, Education, and Recovery Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EARLY INTERVENTION. 

7 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS BY

8 CENTER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION.—Section 


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1 515(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 290bb–21(b)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

4 end; 

5 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(15) in cooperation with relevant stakeholders 

9 and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

10 and Prevention, develop educational materials for 

11 clinicians to use with pregnant women for shared de12 cision-making regarding pain management during 

13 pregnancy.’’. 

14 (b) GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY CEN15 TER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT.—Section 

16 507(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 290bb(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(15) in cooperation with the Secretary, imple24 ment and disseminate the recommendations in the 

25 report entitled ‘Protecting Our Infants Act: Final 


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1 Strategy’ issued by the Department of Health and 

2 Human Services in 2017; and’’. 

3 (c) SUPPORT OF PARTNERSHIPS BY CENTER FOR

4 SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT.—Section 507(b) of the 

5 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb(b)), as 

6 amended by subsection (b), is further amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(16) in cooperation with relevant stakeholders 

9 such as BABYCENTER, March of Dimes, the 

10 American College of Obstetricians and Gyne11 cologists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, 

12 support public-private partnerships to assist with 

13 education and support of pregnant women and 

14 health care providers who treat pregnant women and 

15 babies.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. EXPANDED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR MOMS AND 

17 BABIES. 

18 (a) TREATMENT SERVICES INCLUDING REFER19 RALS.—Section 508 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 290bb–1) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe25 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) the services will be administered consistent 

3 with appropriate guidelines, including the clinical 

4 guide entitled ‘Clinical Guidance for Treating Preg5 nant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Dis6 order and Their Infants’ (or any successor guide).’’; 

7 and 

8 (2) in subsection (d), by amending paragraph 

9 (10) to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(10) Planning for, and counseling to assist 

11 with, care outside of the clinical and in-person set12 ting, both before and after discharge, including re13 ferrals to any public or nonprofit private entities in 

14 the community involved that provide services appro15 priate for the woman and the children of the 

16 woman.’’. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services shall submit to the appropriate commit20 tees of the Congress and post on a publicly available 

21 website a report regarding the implementation of the 

22 strategy relating to prenatal opioid use, including neonatal 

23 abstinence syndrome, developed pursuant to section 2 of 

24 the Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015 (Public Law 114– 

25 91). Such report shall include— 


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1 (1) updates on the implementation of the strat2 egy, including information regarding the agencies in3 volved in the implementation; 

4 (2) any additional funding required to fully im5 plement the strategy; and 

6 (3) processes by which to coordinate the out7 lined activities across the Department of Health and 

8 Human Services. 

Æ 


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