national guidelines, systematic reviews, or other well- 
conducted clinical studies. 
(4) Developing underlying infrastructure needed 
to support quality collaborative activities under this 
subsection. 
(5) Providing technical assistance to providers 
and institutions to build quality improvement capac-
ity and facilitate participation in collaborative activi-
ties. 
(6) Developing the capability to access the fol-
lowing data sources: 
(A) A mother’s prenatal, intrapartum, and 
postpartum records. 
(B) A mother’s medical records. 
(C) An infant’s medical records since birth. 
(D) Birth and death certificates. 
(E) Any other relevant State-level gen-
erated data (such as data from the pregnancy 
risk assessment monitoring system (PRAMS)). 
(7) Developing access to blinded liability claims 
data, analyzing the data, and using the results of 
such analysis to improve practice. 
(e) SPECIAL RULE FOR BIRTHS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), if 
a grant under subsection (a) is for a project or pro-
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gram that focuses on births, at least 25 percent of 
the births addressed by such project or program 
must occur in health facilities that perform fewer 
than 1,000 births per year. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—In the case of a grant under 
subsection (a) for a project or program located in a 
State in which less than 25 percent of the health fa-
cilities in the State perform less than 1,000 births 
per year, the percentage of births in such facilities 
addressed by such project or program shall be com-
mensurate with the Statewide percentage of births 
performed at such facilities. 
(f) USE OF QUALITY MEASURES.—Projects and pro-
grams for which such a grant is made shall— 
(1) include data collection with rapid analysis 
and feedback to participants with a focus on improv-
ing practice and health outcomes; 
(2) develop a plan to identify and resolve data 
collection problems; 
(3) identify and document evidence-based strat-
egies that will be used to improve performance on 
quality measures and other metrics; and 
(4) exclude from quality measure collection and 
reporting physicians and midwives who attend fewer 
than 30 births per year. 
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(g) REPORTING ON QUALITY MEASURES.—Any re-
porting requirements established by a project or program 
funded under subsection (a) shall be designed to— 
(1) minimize costs and administrative effort; 
and 
(2) use existing data resources when feasible. 
(h) CLEARINGHOUSE.—The Secretary shall establish 
an online, open-access clearinghouse to make protocols, 
procedures, reports, tools, and other resources of indi-
vidual collaboratives available to collaboratives and other 
entities that are working to improve maternity and infant 
care quality. 
(i) EVALUATION.—A quality collaborative (or other 
entity receiving a grant under subsection (a)) shall— 
(1) develop and carry out plans for evaluating 
its maternity and infant care quality improvement 
programs and projects; and 
(2) publish its experiences and results in arti-
cles, technical reports, or other formats for the ben-
efit of others working on maternity and infant care 
quality improvement activities. 
(j) ANNUAL REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—A quality 
collaborative or other eligible entity that receives a grant 
under subsection (a) shall submit an annual report to the 
Secretary containing the following: 
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(1) A description of the activities carried out 
using the funding from such grant. 
(2) A description of any barriers that limited 
the ability of the collaborative or entity to achieve its 
goals. 
(3) The achievements of the collaborative or en-
tity under the grant with respect to the quality, 
health outcomes, and value of maternity and infant 
care. 
(4) A list of lessons learned from the grant. 
Such reports shall be made available to the public. 
(k) GOVERNANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A maternity and infant care 
quality collaborative or a maternity and infant care 
program within a broader quality collaborative that 
is supported under subsection (a) shall be governed 
by a multi-stakeholder executive committee. 
(2) COMPOSITION.—Such executive committee 
shall include individuals who represent— 
(A) physicians, including physicians in the 
fields of general obstetrics, maternal-fetal medi-
cine, family medicine, neonatology, and pediat-
rics; 
(B) nurse-practitioners and nurses; 
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(C) certified nurse-midwives and certified 
midwives; 
(D) health facilities and health systems; 
(E) consumers; 
(F) employers and other private pur-
chasers; 
(G) Medicaid programs; and 
(H) other public health agencies and orga-
nizations, as appropriate. 
Such committee also may include other individuals, 
such as individuals with expertise in health quality 
measurement and other types of expertise as rec-
ommended by the Secretary. Such committee also 
may be composed of a combination of general col-
laborative executive committee members and mater-
nity and infant specific project executive committee 
members. 
(l) CONSULTATION.—A quality collaborative or other 
eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection (a) 
shall engage in regular ongoing consultation with— 
(1) regional and State public health agencies 
and organizations; 
(2) public and private health insurers; and 
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(3) regional and State organizations rep-
resenting physicians, midwives, and nurses who pro-
vide maternity and infant services. 
(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to carry 
out this section. Funds appropriated under this subsection 
shall remain available until expended. 
SEC. 4. FACILITATION OF INCREASED COORDINATION AND 
ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRI-
VATE SECTOR WITH RESPECT TO QUALITY 
AND EFFICIENCY MEASURES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1890(b) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395aaa(b)) is amended by insert-
ing after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) FACILITATION OF INCREASED COORDINA-
TION AND ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND 
PRIVATE SECTOR WITH RESPECT TO QUALITY AND 
EFFICIENCY MEASURES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The entity shall facili-
tate increased coordination and alignment be-
tween the public and private sector with respect 
to quality and efficiency measures. 
‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The entity shall 
prepare and make available to the public its 
findings under this paragraph in its annual re-
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port. Such public availability shall include post-
ing each report on the Internet website of the 
entity.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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