372 
Administration as an over-the-counter 
medication for individuals, and is a 
safe and effective way to prevent 
pregnancy after unprotected inter-
course or contraceptive failure if 
taken in a timely manner; 
‘‘(II) emergency contraception is 
more effective the sooner it is taken; 
and 
‘‘(III) emergency contraception 
does not cause an abortion and cannot 
interrupt an established pregnancy; 
‘‘(iv) meets such conditions regarding 
the provision of such information in lan-
guages other than English as the Secretary 
may establish; and 
‘‘(v) is provided without regard to the 
ability of the individual or their family to 
pay costs associated with the provision of 
such information to the individual. 
‘‘(B) Immediate offer to provide emergency 
contraception to the individual at the hospital 
and, in the case that the individual accepts such 
offer, immediate provision to the individual of 
such contraception on the same day it is re-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00372
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
373 
quested without regard to the inability of the 
individual or their family to pay costs associ-
ated with the offer and provision of such con-
traception. 
‘‘(C) Development and implementation of a 
written policy to ensure that an individual is 
present at the hospital, or on-call, who— 
‘‘(i) has authority to dispense or pre-
scribe emergency contraception, independ-
ently, or under a protocol prepared by a 
physician for the administration of emer-
gency contraception at the hospital to a 
victim of sexual assault; and 
‘‘(ii) is trained to comply with the re-
quirements of this section. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this para-
graph: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘emergency contraception’ 
means a drug or device (as such terms are de-
fined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) or a drug 
regimen that— 
‘‘(i) is used postcoitally; 
‘‘(ii) prevents pregnancy primarily by 
preventing or delaying ovulation, and does 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00373
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
374 
not terminate an established pregnancy; 
and 
‘‘(iii) is approved by the Food and 
Drug Administration. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘hospital’ includes a critical 
access 
hospital, 
as 
defined 
in 
section 
1861(mm)(1). 
‘‘(C) The term ‘sexual assault’ means co-
itus in which the individual involved does not 
consent or lacks the legal capacity to consent.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION ON PAYMENT UNDER MEDICAID.— 
Section 1903(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396b(i)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (11) 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(12) with respect to any amount expended for 
care or services furnished under the plan by a hos-
pital on or after January 1, 2017, unless such hos-
pital meets the requirements specified in section 
1866(l) for purposes of title XVIII.’’. 
SEC. 513. ACCESS TO BIRTH CONTROL DUTIES OF PHAR-
MACIES TO ENSURE PROVISION OF FDA-AP-
PROVED CONTRACEPTION. 
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 238 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00374
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
375 
‘‘SEC. 249. DUTIES OF PHARMACIES TO ENSURE PROVISION 
OF FDA-APPROVED CONTRACEPTION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), a 
pharmacy that receives Food and Drug Administration- 
approved drugs or devices in interstate commerce shall 
maintain compliance with the following: 
‘‘(1) If a customer requests a contraceptive, in-
cluding emergency contraception, that is in stock, 
the pharmacy shall ensure that the contraceptive is 
provided to the customer— 
‘‘(A) without delay; 
‘‘(B) without regard to the customer’s age, 
gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation; 
‘‘(C) without a requirement that identifica-
tion be presented; and 
‘‘(D) despite any conflicts of employees to 
filling a prescription and dispensing a par-
ticular prescription drug or device due to sin-
cerely held moral, philosophical, or religious be-
liefs. 
‘‘(2) If a customer requests a contraceptive that 
is not in stock and the pharmacy in the normal 
course of business stocks contraception, the phar-
macy shall immediately inform the customer that the 
contraceptive is not in stock and without delay offer 
the customer the following options: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00375
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
376 
‘‘(A) If the customer prefers to obtain the 
contraceptive through a referral or transfer, the 
pharmacy shall— 
‘‘(i) locate a pharmacy of the cus-
tomer’s choice or the closest pharmacy 
confirmed to have the contraceptive in 
stock; and 
‘‘(ii) refer the customer or transfer 
the prescription to that pharmacy. 
‘‘(B) If the customer prefers for the phar-
macy to order the contraceptive, the pharmacy 
shall obtain the contraceptive under the phar-
macy’s standard procedure for expedited order-
ing of medication and notify the customer when 
the contraceptive arrives. 
‘‘(3) The pharmacy shall ensure that its em-
ployees do not— 
‘‘(A) intimidate, threaten, or harass cus-
tomers in the delivery of services relating to a 
request for contraception; 
‘‘(B) interfere with or obstruct the delivery 
of services relating to a request for contracep-
tion; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00376
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
377 
‘‘(C) intentionally misrepresent or deceive 
customers about the availability of contracep-
tion or its mechanism of action; 
‘‘(D) breach medical confidentiality with 
respect to a request for contraception or threat-
en to breach such confidentiality; or 
‘‘(E) refuse to return a valid, lawful pre-
scription for contraception upon customer re-
quest. 
‘‘(b) 
CONTRACEPTIVES
NOT
ORDINARILY 
STOCKED.—Nothing in subsection (a)(2) shall be con-
strued to require any pharmacy to comply with such sub-
section if the pharmacy does not ordinarily stock contra-
ceptives in the normal course of business. 
‘‘(c) REFUSALS PURSUANT
TO STANDARD PHAR-
MACY PRACTICE.—This section does not prohibit a phar-
macy from refusing to provide a contraceptive to a cus-
tomer in accordance with any of the following: 
‘‘(1) If it is unlawful to dispense the contracep-
tive to the customer without a valid, lawful prescrip-
tion and no such prescription is presented. 
‘‘(2) If the customer is unable to pay for the 
contraceptive. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00377
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
378 
‘‘(3) If the employee of the pharmacy refuses to 
provide the contraceptive on the basis of a profes-
sional clinical judgment. 
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to invalidate or limit rights, rem-
edies, procedures, or legal standards under title VII of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964. 
‘‘(e) PREEMPTION.—This section does not preempt 
any provision of State law or any professional obligation 
made applicable by a State board or other entity respon-
sible for licensing or discipline of pharmacies or phar-
macists, to the extent that such State law or professional 
obligation provides protections for customers that are 
greater than the protections provided by this section. 
‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.—A pharmacy that vio-
lates a requirement of subsection (a) is liable to the 
United States for a civil penalty in an amount not 
exceeding $1,000 per day of violation, not to exceed 
$100,000 for all violations adjudicated in a single 
proceeding. 
‘‘(2) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any person 
aggrieved as a result of a violation of a requirement 
of subsection (a) may, in any court of competent ju-
risdiction, commence a civil action against the phar-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00378
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
379 
macy involved to obtain appropriate relief, including 
actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and a 
reasonable attorney’s fee and cost. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A civil action under para-
graph (1) or (2) may not be commenced against a 
pharmacy after the expiration of the 5-year period 
beginning on the date on which the pharmacy alleg-
edly engaged in the violation involved. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘contraception’ or ‘contraceptive’ 
means any drug or device approved by the Food and 
Drug Administration to prevent pregnancy. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘employee’ means a person hired, 
by contract or any other form of an agreement, by 
a pharmacy. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘pharmacy’ means an entity 
that— 
‘‘(A) is authorized by a State to engage in 
the business of selling prescription drugs at re-
tail; and 
‘‘(B) employs one or more employees. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘product’ means a Food and 
Drug Administration-approved drug or device. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘professional clinical judgment’ 
means the use of professional knowledge and skills 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00379
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
380 
to form a clinical judgment, in accordance with pre-
vailing medical standards. 
‘‘(6) The term ‘without delay’, with respect to 
a pharmacy providing, providing a referral for, or 
ordering contraception, or transferring the prescrip-
tion for contraception, means within the usual and 
customary timeframe at the pharmacy for providing, 
providing a referral for, or ordering other products, 
or transferring the prescription for other products, 
respectively. 
‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef-
fect on the 31st day after the date of the enactment of 
this section, without regard to whether the Secretary has 
issued any guidance or final rule regarding this section.’’. 
SEC. 514. ADDITIONAL FOCUS AREA FOR THE OFFICE ON 
WOMEN’S HEALTH. 
Section 229(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 237a(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6), at the end, by striking 
‘‘and’’; 
(2) in paragraph (7), at the end, by striking the 
period and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00380
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
381 
‘‘(8) facilitate policymakers, health system lead-
ers and providers, consumers, and other stake-
holders in understanding optimal maternity care and 
support for the provision of such care, including the 
priorities of— 
‘‘(A) protecting, promoting, and supporting 
the innate capacities of childbearing women and 
their newborns for childbirth, breastfeeding, 
and attachment; 
‘‘(B) using obstetric interventions only 
when such interventions are supported by 
strong, high-quality evidence, and minimizing 
overuse of maternity practices that have been 
shown to have benefit in limited situations and 
that can expose women, infants, or both to risk 
of harm if used routinely and indiscriminately, 
including continuous electronic fetal monitoring, 
labor induction, epidural analgesia, primary ce-
sarean section, and routine repeat cesarean 
birth; 
‘‘(C) reliably incorporating noninvasive, 
evidence-based practices that have documented 
correlation with considerable improvement in 
outcomes with no detrimental side effects, such 
as smoking cessation programs in pregnancy 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00381
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
382 
and proven models of group prenatal care that 
integrate health assessment, education, and 
support into a unified program; 
‘‘(D) a shared understanding of the quali-
fications of licensed providers of maternity care 
and the best evidence about the safety, satisfac-
tion, outcomes, and costs of their care, and ap-
propriate deployment of such caregivers within 
the maternity care workforce to address the 
needs of childbearing women and newborns and 
the growing shortage of maternity caregivers; 
‘‘(E) a shared understanding of the results 
of the best available research comparing hos-
pital, birth center, and planned home births, in-
cluding information about each setting’s safety, 
satisfaction, outcomes, and costs; and 
‘‘(F) high-quality, evidence-based child-
birth education that promotes a natural, 
healthy, and safe approach to pregnancy, child-
birth, and early parenting; is taught by certified 
educators, peer counselors, and health profes-
sionals; and promotes informed decisionmaking 
by childbearing women; and’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00382
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
384 
Health and Development, the Director of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality, the Assistant Secretary 
for Children and Families, the Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Minority Health, the Director of the Office of Per-
sonnel Management, and such other Federal officials as 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines 
to be appropriate. 
‘‘(c) CHAIR.—The Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Women’s Health shall serve as the chair of the ICCPOM. 
‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The ICCPOM shall guide policy and 
program development across the Federal Government with 
respect to promotion of optimal maternity care, provided, 
however, that nothing in this section shall be construed 
as transferring regulatory or program authority from an 
agency to the ICCPOM. 
‘‘(e) CONSULTATIONS.—The ICCPOM shall actively 
seek the input of, and shall consult with, all appropriate 
and interested stakeholders, including State health depart-
ments, public health research and interest groups, founda-
tions, childbearing women and their advocates, and mater-
nity care professional associations and organizations, re-
flecting racially, ethnically, demographically, and geo-
graphically diverse communities. 
‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00384
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
385 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, on behalf of 
the ICCPOM, shall annually submit to Congress a 
report that summarizes— 
‘‘(A) all programs and policies of Federal 
agencies (including the Medicare Program 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act and 
the Medicaid program under title XIX of such 
Act) designed to promote optimal maternity 
care, focusing particularly on programs and 
policies that support the adoption of evidence 
based maternity care, as defined by timely, sci-
entifically sound systematic reviews; 
‘‘(B) all programs and policies of Federal 
agencies (including the Medicare Program 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act and 
the Medicaid program under title XIX of such 
Act) designed to address the problems of mater-
nal mortality and morbidity, infant mortality, 
prematurity, and low birth weight, including 
such programs and policies designed to address 
racial and ethnic disparities with respect to 
each of such problems; 
‘‘(C) the extent of progress in reducing 
maternal mortality and infant mortality, low 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00385
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
386 
birth weight, and prematurity at State and na-
tional levels; and 
‘‘(D) such other information regarding op-
timal maternity care as the Secretary deter-
mines to be appropriate. 
The information specified in subparagraph (C) shall 
be included in each such report in a manner that 
disaggregates such information by race, ethnicity, 
and indigenous status in order to determine the ex-
tent of progress in reducing racial and ethnic dis-
parities and disparities related to indigenous status. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
INFORMATION.—Each report 
under paragraph (1) shall include information 
(disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and indigenous 
status, as applicable) on the following rates and 
costs by State: 
‘‘(A) The rate of primary cesarean deliv-
eries and repeat cesarean deliveries. 
‘‘(B) The rate of vaginal births after cesar-
ean. 
‘‘(C) The rate of vaginal breech births. 
‘‘(D) The rate of induction of labor. 
‘‘(E) The rate of freestanding birth center 
births. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00386
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
387 
‘‘(F) The rate of planned and unplanned 
home birth. 
‘‘(G) The rate of attended births by pro-
vider, including by an obstetrician-gynecologist, 
family practice physician, obstetrician-gyne-
cologist physician assistant, certified nurse-mid-
wife, certified midwife, and certified profes-
sional midwife. 
‘‘(H) 
The 
cost 
of 
maternity 
care 
disaggregated by place of birth and provider of 
care, including— 
‘‘(i) uncomplicated vaginal birth; 
‘‘(ii) complicated vaginal birth; 
‘‘(iii) uncomplicated cesarean birth; 
and 
‘‘(iv) complicated cesarean birth. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated, in addition to amounts 
authorized to be appropriated under section 229(e), to 
carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
years 2017 through 2021.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) INCLUSION AS DUTY OF HHS OFFICE ON 
WOMEN’S HEALTH.—Section 229(b) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 237a(b)), as amended by section 514, is fur-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00387
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
388 
ther amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(9) establish the Interagency Coordinating 
Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity 
Outcomes in accordance with section 229A.’’. 
(2) TREATMENT OF BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Sec-
tion 229(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 237a(d)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(other than under subsection 
(b)(9))’’ after ‘‘under this section’’. 
SEC. 516. CONSUMER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN. 
Section 229 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 237a), as amended, is further amended in sub-
section (b)— 
(1) in paragraph (8), at the end, by striking 
‘‘and’’; 
(2) in paragraph (9), at the end, by striking the 
period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(10) not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of the Health Equity and Account-
ability Act of 2016, develop and implement a 4-year 
culturally and linguistically appropriate multimedia 
consumer education campaign that is designed to 
promote understanding and acceptance of evidence- 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00388
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
389 
based maternity practices and models of care for op-
timal maternity outcomes among women of child-
bearing ages and families of such women and that— 
‘‘(A) highlights the importance of pro-
tecting, promoting, and supporting the innate 
capacities of childbearing women and their 
newborns for childbirth, breastfeeding, and at-
tachment; 
‘‘(B) promotes understanding of the impor-
tance of using obstetric interventions when 
medically necessary and when supported by 
strong, high-quality evidence; 
‘‘(C) highlights the widespread overuse of 
maternity practices that have been shown to 
have benefit when used appropriately in situa-
tions of medical necessity, but which can expose 
women, infants, or both to risk of harm if used 
routinely and indiscriminately, including contin-
uous fetal monitoring, labor induction, epidural 
anesthesia, elective primary cesarean section, 
and repeat cesarean delivery; 
‘‘(D) emphasizes the noninvasive maternity 
practices that have strong proven correlation or 
may be associated with considerable improve-
ment in outcomes with no detrimental side ef-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00389
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
390 
fects, and are significantly underused in the 
United States, including smoking cessation pro-
grams in pregnancy, group model prenatal care, 
continuous labor support, nonsupine positions 
for birth, and external version to turn breech 
babies at term; 
‘‘(E) educates consumers about the quali-
fications of licensed providers of maternity care 
and the best evidence about their safety, satis-
faction, outcomes, and costs; 
‘‘(F) informs consumers about the best 
available research comparing birth center 
births, planned home births, and hospital 
births, including information about each set-
ting’s safety, satisfaction, outcomes, and costs; 
‘‘(G) fosters participation in high-quality, 
evidence-based childbirth education that pro-
motes a natural, healthy, and safe approach to 
pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting; is 
taught by certified educators, peer counselors, 
and health professionals; and promotes in-
formed decisionmaking by childbearing women; 
and 
‘‘(H) is pilot tested for consumer com-
prehension, cultural sensitivity, and acceptance 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00390
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
391 
of the messages across geographically, racially, 
ethnically, and linguistically diverse popu-
lations.’’. 
SEC. 517. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE OF SYSTEMATIC RE-
VIEWS FOR CARE OF CHILDBEARING WOMEN 
AND NEWBORNS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, through the Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality, shall— 
(1) make publicly available an online biblio-
graphic database identifying systematic reviews, in-
cluding an explanation of the level and quality of 
evidence, for care of childbearing women and 
newborns; and 
(2) initiate regular updates that incorporate 
newly issued and updated systematic reviews. 
(b) SOURCES.—To aim for a comprehensive inventory 
of systematic reviews relevant to maternal and newborn 
care, the database shall identify reviews from diverse 
sources, including— 
(1) scientific peer-reviewed journals; 
(2) databases, including Cochrane Database of 
Systematic Reviews, Clinical Evidence, and Data-
base of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00391
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
392 
(3) Internet Web sites of agencies and organi-
zations throughout the world that produce such sys-
tematic reviews. 
(c) FEATURES.—The database shall— 
(1) provide bibliographic citations for each 
record within the database, and for each such cita-
tion include an explanation of the level and quality 
of evidence; 
(2) include abstracts, as available; 
(3) provide reference to companion documents 
as may exist for each review, such as evidence tables 
and guidelines or consumer educational materials de-
veloped from the review; 
(4) provide links to the source of the full review 
and to any companion documents; 
(5) provide links to the source of a previous 
version or update of the review; 
(6) be searchable by intervention or other topic 
of the review, reported outcomes, author, title, and 
source; and 
(7) offer to users periodic electronic notification 
of database updates relating to users’ topics of inter-
est. 
(d) OUTREACH.—Not later than the first date the 
database is made publicly available and periodically there-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00392
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
393 
after, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
publicize the availability, features, and uses of the data-
base under this section to the stakeholders described in 
subsection (e). 
(e) CONSULTATION.—For purposes of developing the 
database under this section and maintaining and updating 
such database, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices shall convene and consult with an advisory committee 
composed of relevant stakeholders, including— 
(1) Federal Medicaid administrators and State 
agencies administrating State plans under title XIX 
of the Social Security Act pursuant to section 
1902(a)(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(5)); 
(2) providers of maternity and newborn care 
from both academic and community-based settings, 
including obstetrician-gynecologists, family physi-
cians, certified nurse midwives, certified midwives, 
certified professional midwives, physician assistants, 
perinatal nurses, pediatricians, and nurse practi-
tioners; 
(3) maternal-fetal medicine specialists; 
(4) neonatologists; 
(5) childbearing women and advocates for such 
women, including childbirth educators certified by a 
nationally accredited program, representing commu-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00393
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
394 
nities that are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, in-
digenous status, and geographic area; 
(6) employers and purchasers; 
(7) health facility and system leaders, including 
both hospital and birth center facilities; 
(8) journalists; and 
(9) bibliographic informatics specialists. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2017 through 2019 for the purpose of devel-
oping the database and such sums as may be necessary 
for each subsequent fiscal year for updating the database 
and providing outreach and notification to users, as de-
scribed in this section. 
SEC. 
518. 
MATERNITY 
CARE 
HEALTH 
PROFESSIONAL 
SHORTAGE AREAS. 
Section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254e) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(k)(1) The Secretary, acting through the Adminis-
trator of the Health Resources and Services Administra-
tion, shall designate maternity care health professional 
shortage areas in the States, publish a descriptive list of 
the area’s population groups, medical facilities, and other 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:12 Jun 15, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00394
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5475.IH
H5475
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with BILLS