Infant Protection and Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.142 | Sponsor: Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila (D-TX)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Infant Protection and Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2021
This bill establishes additional requirements that certain hospitals must meet in order to participate in Medicare. Specifically, as a condition of Medicare participation, hospitals and critical access hospitals that provide neonatal or infant care must have appropriate security procedures to reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction and baby switching. Noncompliant hospitals are subject to specified civil penalties.
The bill also establishes criminal penalties for knowingly altering or destroying a newborn's hospital patient records for the purpose of causing the newborn to be misidentified.

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals 
    reimbursed under the Medicare system to establish and implement 
    security procedures to reduce the likelihood of infant patient 
abduction and baby switching, including procedures for identifying all 
 infant patients in the hospital in a manner that ensures that it will 
          be evident if infants are missing from the hospital.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Infant Protection and Baby Switching 
Prevention Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. MEDICARE PAYMENTS TO HOSPITALS CONTINGENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF 
              SECURITY PROCEDURES REGARDING INFANT PATIENT PROTECTION 
              AND BABY SWITCHING.

    (a) Agreements With Hospitals.--Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraphs (W) and (X), by moving the margin of 
        each subparagraph 2 ems to the left;
            (2) in subparagraph (X), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``, and''; and
            (4) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(Z) in the case of hospitals and critical access 
        hospitals that provide neonatal or infant care, to have in 
        effect security procedures that meet standards established by 
        the Secretary (in consultation with appropriate organizations) 
        to reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction and baby 
        switching, including standards for identifying all infant 
        patients in the hospital in a manner that ensures that it will 
        be evident if infants are missing from the hospital.''.
    (b) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--In promulgating regulations under 
        subparagraph (Z) of section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)), as added by subsection (a), the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services shall--
                    (A) consult with various organizations representing 
                consumers, appropriate State and local regulatory 
                agencies, hospitals, and critical access hospitals;
                    (B) take into account variations in size and 
                location of hospitals and critical access hospitals, 
                and the percentage of overall services furnished by 
                such hospitals and critical access hospitals that 
                neonatal care and infant care represent; and
                    (C) promulgate specific regulations that address 
                each size and type of hospital covered.
            (2) Deadline for publication.--Not later than 12 months 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
        shall publish the regulations required under paragraph (1). In 
        order to carry out this requirement in a timely manner, the 
        Secretary may promulgate regulations that take effect on an 
        interim basis, after notice and pending opportunity for public 
        comment.
    (c) Penalties.--
            (1) Amount of penalty.--A hospital that participates in the 
        Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 
        under an agreement pursuant to section 1866 of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1395cc) that commits a violation described in paragraph 
        (2) is subject to a civil money penalty of not more than 
        $50,000 (or not more than $25,000 in the case of a hospital 
        with fewer than 100 beds) for each such violation.
            (2) Violation described.--A hospital described in paragraph 
        (1) commits a violation for purposes of this subsection if the 
        hospital fails to have in effect security procedures that meet 
        standards established by the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services under section 1866(a)(1)(Z) of such Act, as added by 
        subsection (a), to reduce the likelihood of infant patient 
        abduction and baby switching, including standards for 
        identifying all infant patients in the hospital in a manner 
        that ensures that it will be evident if infants are missing 
        from the hospital.
            (3) Administrative provisions.--The provisions of section 
        1128A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a), other than subsections 
        (a) and (b), shall apply to a civil money penalty under this 
        subsection in the same manner as such provisions apply with 
        respect to a penalty or proceeding under section 1128A(a) of 
        such Act.
    (d) Effective Date.--This section, and the amendments made by this 
section, shall take effect on the date that is 18 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to contracts entered into 
or renewed under section 1866 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395cc) on or after such date.

SEC. 3. BABY SWITCHING PROHIBITED.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 55 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1205. BABY SWITCHING.

    ``(a) Whoever being in interstate commerce knowingly alters or 
destroys an identification record of a newborn patient with the 
intention that the newborn patient be misidentified by any person shall 
be fined not more than $250,000 in the case of an individual and not 
more than $500,000 in the case of an organization, or imprisoned not 
more than ten years, or both.
    ``(b) As used in this section, the term `identification record' 
means a record maintained by a hospital to aid in the identification of 
newborn patients of the hospital, including any of the following:
            ``(1) The footprint, fingerprint, or photograph of the 
        newborn patient.
            ``(2) A written description of the infant.
            ``(3) An identification bracelet or anklet put on the 
        newborn patient, or the mother of the newborn patient, by a 
        staff member of the hospital.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 55 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``1205. Baby switching.''.
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