Bill 113-S-252 — Health / Infants and Children
Subject: Health

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on November 12, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Title I: PREEMIE Act Reauthorization - Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Reauthorization Act or the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act - (Sec. 102) Amends the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act to revise and reauthorize requirements for research on prematurity and preterm births.

Authorizes the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) conduct epidemiological studies (as currently required) on the clinical, biological, social, environmental, genetic, and behavioral factors related to prematurity, as appropriate; (2) conduct activities to improve national data to facilitate tracking preterm births; and (3) continue efforts to prevent preterm birth through the identification of opportunities for prevention and the assessment of their impact.

(Sec. 103) Requires the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth to give preference in awarding grants to an eligible entity that proposes to use the grant funds to develop plans for, or to establish, telehealth networks that provide prenatal care for high-risk pregnancies.

Revises and reauthorizes through FY2017 the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct demonstration projects related to preterm births.

Includes as activities under such projects programs to test and evaluate various strategies to provide information and education to health care providers and the public on: (1) the core risk factors for preterm labor and delivery, (2) medically indicated deliveries before full term, (3) the importance of preconception and prenatal care, (4) treatments and outcomes for premature infants, (5) meeting the informational needs of families during the stay of an infant in a neonatal intensive care unit, and (6) utilization of evidence-based strategies to prevent birth injuries.

Authorizes as additional activities under such projects the establishment of programs to increase the availability, awareness, and use of pregnancy and post-term information services that provide evidence-based, clinical information through counselors, community outreach efforts, electronic or telephonic communication, or other appropriate means regarding causes associated with prematurity, birth defects, or health risks to a post-term infant.

(Sec. 104) Repeals establishment of the Interagency Coordinating Council on Prematurity and Low Birthweight.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality. Directs the Advisory Committee (or an existing advisory committee designated by the Secretary) to develop, and periodically review and revise, a plan for conducting and supporting research, education, and programs on preterm birth through HHS.

Requires the Secretary to designate an appropriate agency within HHS to coordinate existing studies and report to the Secretary and Congress on hospital readmissions of preterm infants.

Title II: National Pediatric Research Network - National Pediatric Research Network Act of 2013 - (Sec. 202) Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in carrying out the Pediatric Research Initiative, to consult with the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to provide for the establishment of a National Pediatric Research Network.

Authorizes the Director of the Institute to award funding to public or private nonprofit entities for providing support for pediatric research consortia, including with respect to basic, clinical, behavioral, or translational research and the training of researchers in pediatric research techniques. Requires consortia to be formed from a collaboration of cooperating institutions, coordinated by a lead institution or institutions, agree to disseminate scientific findings rapidly and efficiently to other consortia, NIH, FDA, and other relevant agencies, and meet requirements prescribed by the Director of NIH. Allows such support to be for a period of five years, with additional extensions at the discretion of the Director of NIH.

Requires the Director of NIH to provide for the coordination of activities among the consortia and to require the periodic preparation and submission of reports on their activities. Requires each pediatric research consortium receiving an award to assist the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the establishment or expansion of patient registries and other surveillance systems as appropriate and upon request by the CDC.

Requires the Director of NIH to ensure that an appropriate number of such awards are awarded to consortia that agree to: (1) consider pediatric rare diseases or conditions or those related to birth defects; and (2) conduct or coordinate one or more multisite clinical trials of therapies for, or approaches to, the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of one or more pediatric rare diseases or conditions.

Title III: CHIMP Act Amendments - CHIMP Act Amendments of 2013 - (Sec. 302) Amends the Public Health Service Act, with respect to the lifetime care of chimpanzees used in federally conducted or supported medical research, to revise the sanctuary system of care, maintenance, and transportation of all chimpanzees under the ownership and control of NIH to: (1) authorize appropriations, in declining amounts, for FY2014-FY2018; (2) eliminate a restriction on reservation of funds for a fiscal year that requires appropriations to equal or exceed amounts appropriated for FY1999; and (3) require the use of funds for other compliant facilities to be determined by the Secretary (rather than, as under current law, by the board of directors of the nonprofit entity operating the facility).

 Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to evaluate: (1) the research status of NIH-owned or -controlled chimpanzees; (2) the costs of care and maintenance, broken down by research or retirement status, services included, and location; (3) the extent to which requirements that a nonprofit private entity match funding have been met; and (4) any options for cost savings for support and maintenance.

Requires the Director of NIH to report to Congress, with biennial updates, on: (1) the care, maintenance, and transportation of the chimpanzees under NIH ownership or control; (2) related costs; and (3) the research status of such chimpanzees.