Here is the exact language which appears in Section 2952 included in the bill called The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with reference to postpartum depression. Note that it does NOT mandate screening OR subsidize medication. The breadth and depth of the services encouraged and supported by its initiatives open the door to programs from concrete services to help new mothers, to education, public awareness and support, research and access to treatment.

When we began this journey, we did so with the acknowledgement that the experience of motherhood is apolitical, universal in its reach. Tonight, let that shared love and reverence reach above political differences and prevail in this celebration of life-saving victory for America’s mother, infants and families.

SEC. 2952. SUPPORT, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH FOR
POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION.

(a) RESEARCH ON POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS.—

(1) EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services
(in this subsection and subsection (c) referred to as
the ‘‘Secretary’’) is encouraged to continue activities
on postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis
(in this subsection and subsection (c) referred to as
‘‘postpartum conditions’’), including research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and treatments for, postpartum conditions. Activities under this paragraph shall include conducting and supporting the following:

(A) Basic research concerning the etiology
and causes of the conditions.

(B) Epidemiological studies to address the
frequency and natural history of the conditions
and the differences among racial and ethnic
groups with respect to the conditions.

(C) The development of improved screening
and diagnostic techniques.

(D) Clinical research for the development
and evaluation of new treatments.

(E) Information and education programs
for health care professionals and the public,
which may include a coordinated national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of postpartum conditions. Activities under such a national campaign may—

(i) include public service announce
ments through television, radio, and other
means; and

(ii) focus on—

(I) raising awareness about
screening;

(II) educating new mothers and
their families about postpartum conditions to promote earlier diagnosis and treatment; and

(III) ensuring that such education
includes complete information concerning postpartum conditions, including its symptoms, methods of coping with the illness, and treatment resources.

(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF RELATIVE MENTAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES FOR WOMEN OF RESOLVING A PREGNANCY.—
(A) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—

It is the sense of Congress that the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health may conduct a nationally representative longitudinal study (during the period of fiscal years 2010 through 2019) of the relative mental health consequences for women of resolving a pregnancy (intended and unintended) in various ways, including carrying the pregnancy to term and parenting the child, carrying the pregnancy to term and placing the child for adoption, miscarriage, and having an abortion. This study may assess the incidence, timing, magnitude, and duration of the immediate and long-term mental health consequences (positive or negative) of these pregnancy outcomes.

(B) REPORT.—Subject to the completion of
the study under subsection
(a), beginning not
later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter for the duration of the study, such Director may prepare and submit to the Congress reports on the findings of the study.

(b) GRANTS TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH A POSTPARTUM CONDITION AND THEIR FAMILIES.—
Title V of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.),as amended by section 2951, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 512. SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH A POSTPARTUM CONDITION AND THEIR FAMILIES.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other payments made under this title to a State, the Secretary may make grants to eligible entities for projects for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with or at risk for postpartum conditions and their families.

‘‘(b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—To the extent practicable and appropriate, the Secretary shall ensure that projects funded under subsection (a) provide education and services
with respect to the diagnosis and management of postpartum conditions for individuals with or at risk for postpartum conditions and their families. The Secretary may allow such projects to include the following:

‘‘(1) Delivering or enhancing outpatient and home-based health and support services, including case management and comprehensive treatment services.

‘‘(2) Delivering or enhancing inpatient care management services that ensure the well-being of the mother and family and the future development of the infant.

‘‘(3) Improving the quality, availability, and organization of health care and support services (including transportation services, attendant care, homemaker services, day or respite care, and providing counseling on financial assistance and insurance).

‘‘(4) Providing education about postpartum con
ditions to promote earlier diagnosis and treatment. Such education may include—

‘‘(A) providing complete information on
postpartum conditions, symptoms, methods of
coping with the illness, and treatment resources; and

‘‘(B) in the case of a grantee that is a State,
hospital, or birthing facility—

‘‘(i) providing education to new mothers and fathers, and other family members
as appropriate, concerning postpartum con24
ditions before new mothers leave the health
facility; and

(ii) ensuring that training programs
regarding such education are carried out at the health facility.

‘‘(c) INTEGRATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—To the extent practicable and appropriate, the Secretary may integrate the grant program under this section with other grant programs carried out by the Secretary, including the program under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act.

‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall establish requirements for grants made under this section that in clude a limit on the amount of grants funds that may be used for administration, accounting, reporting, or program oversight functions and a requirement for each eligible entity that receives a grant to submit, for each grant period, a report to the Secretary that describes how grant funds were used during such period.

‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide technical assistance to entities seeking a grant under this section in order to assist such entities in complying with the requirements of this section.

‘‘(f) APPLICATION OF OTHER PROVISIONS OF TITLE.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the other provisions of this title shall not apply to a grant made under this section.

‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The following provisions of this title shall apply to a grant made under this section to the same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply to allotments made under section 502(c):

‘‘(A) Section 504(b)(6) (relating to prohibition on payments to excluded individuals and
entities).

‘(B) Section 504(c) (relating to the use of funds for the purchase of technical assistance).

‘‘(C) Section 504(d) (relating to a limitation on administrative expenditures).

‘‘(D) Section 506 (relating to reports and audits), but only to the extent determined by the Secretary to be appropriate for grants made under this section.

‘‘(E) Section 507 (relating to penalties for false statements).

‘‘(F) Section 508 (relating to nondiscrimination).

‘‘(G) Section 509(a) (relating to the administration of the grant program).

‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible entity’—
‘‘(A) means a public or nonprofit private
entity; and

‘‘(B) includes a State or local government,
public-private partnership, recipient of a grant
under section 330H of the Public Health Service
Act (relating to the Healthy Start Initiative),

public or nonprofit private hospital, community based organization, hospice, ambulatory care facility, community health center, migrant health center, public housing primary care center, or homeless health center.

‘‘(2) The term ‘postpartum condition’ means
postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis.’’.
(c) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—

(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To
carry out this section and the amendment made by subsection (b), there are authorized to be appropriated, in addition to such other sums as may be available for such purpose—

(A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and

(B) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 and 2012.

(2) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—

(A) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a
study on the benefits of screening for postpartum conditions.

(B) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete the study required by sub paragraph (A) and submit a report to the Congress on the results of such study.

Tags: Carol Blocker, Congressman Bobby L. Rush, Mary Jo Codey, postartum depression legislation, The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at 9:54 PM and is filed under Carol Blocker, Congressman Bobby L. Rush, Mary Jo Codey, Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, Richard Codey, The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act, U. S. Senator Robert Menendez, postpartum depression legislation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1ST SESSION S. 324

referred to the Committee January 09

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Melanie Blocker Stokes 4

Mom’s Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Re- 5

search, and Support for Postpartum Depression Act’’ or 6

the ‘‘Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act’’. 7

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 8

For purposes of this Act— 9

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

(1) the term ‘‘postpartum condition’’ means 1

postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis; and 2

(2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 3

of Health and Human Services. 4

TITLE I—RESEARCH ON 5

POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS 6

SEC. 101. EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF ACTIVI- 7

TIES. 8

(a) CONTINUATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 9

is encouraged to continue activities on postpartum condi- 10

tions. 11

(b) PROGRAMS FOR POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS.—In 12

carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary is encouraged 13

to continue research to expand the understanding of the 14

causes of, and treatments for, postpartum conditions. Ac- 15

tivities under such subsection shall include conducting and 16

supporting the following: 17

(1) Basic research concerning the etiology and 18

causes of the conditions. 19

(2) Epidemiological studies to address the fre- 20

quency and natural history of the conditions and the 21

differences among racial and ethnic groups with re- 22

spect to the conditions. 23

(3) The development of improved screening and 24

diagnostic techniques. 25

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

(4) Clinical research for the development and 1

evaluation of new treatments. 2

(5) Information and education programs for 3

health care professionals and the public, which may 4

include a coordinated national campaign to increase 5

the awareness and knowledge of postpartum condi- 6

tions. Activities under such a national campaign 7

may— 8

(A) include public service announcements 9

through television, radio, and other means; and 10

(B) focus on— 11

(i) raising awareness about screening; 12

(ii) educating new mothers and their 13

families about postpartum conditions to 14

promote earlier diagnosis and treatment; 15

and 16

(iii) ensuring that such education in- 17

cludes complete information concerning 18

postpartum conditions, including its symp- 19

toms, methods of coping with the illness, 20

and treatment resources. 21

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LONGITU- 1

DINAL STUDY OF RELATIVE MENTAL HEALTH 2

CONSEQUENCES FOR WOMEN OF RESOLVING 3

A PREGNANCY. 4

(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 5

gress that the Director of the National Institute of Mental 6

Health may conduct a nationally representative longitu- 7

dinal study (during the period of fiscal years 2009 through 8

2018) of the relative mental health consequences for 9

women of resolving a pregnancy (intended and unin- 10

tended) in various ways, including carrying the pregnancy 11

to term and parenting the child, carrying the pregnancy 12

to term and placing the child for adoption, miscarriage, 13

and having an abortion. This study may assess the inci- 14

dence, timing, magnitude, and duration of the immediate 15

and long-term mental health consequences (positive or 16

negative) of these pregnancy outcomes. 17

(b) REPORT.—Subject to the completion of the study 18

under subsection (a), beginning not later than 5 years 19

after the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodi- 20

cally thereafter for the duration of the study, such Direc- 21

tor may prepare and submit to the Congress reports on 22

the findings of the study. 23

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

TITLE II—DELIVERY OF SERV- 1

ICES REGARDING 2

POSTPARTUM CONDITIONS 3

SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM. 4

Subpart I of part D of title III of the Public Health 5

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by insert- 6

ing after section 330G the following: 7

‘‘SEC. 330G–1. SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH A 8

POSTPARTUM CONDITION AND THEIR FAMI- 9

LIES. 10

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 11

to eligible entities for projects for the establishment, oper- 12

ation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient sys- 13

tems for the delivery of essential services to individuals 14

with a postpartum condition and their families. 15

‘‘(b) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—To the extent prac- 16

ticable and appropriate, the Secretary shall ensure that 17

projects funded under subsection (a) provide education 18

and services with respect to the diagnosis and manage- 19

ment of postpartum conditions. The Secretary may allow 20

such projects to include the following: 21

‘‘(1) Delivering or enhancing outpatient and 22

home-based health and support services, including 23

case management and comprehensive treatment 24

services for individuals with or at risk for 25

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

postpartum conditions, and delivering or enhancing 1

support services for their families. 2

‘‘(2) Delivering or enhancing inpatient care 3

management services that ensure the well-being of 4

the mother and family and the future development 5

of the infant. 6

‘‘(3) Improving the quality, availability, and or- 7

ganization of health care and support services (in- 8

cluding transportation services, attendant care, 9

homemaker services, day or respite care, and pro- 10

viding counseling on financial assistance and insur- 11

ance) for individuals with a postpartum condition 12

and support services for their families. 13

‘‘(4) Providing education to new mothers and, 14

as appropriate, their families about postpartum con- 15

ditions to promote earlier diagnosis and treatment. 16

Such education may include— 17

‘‘(A) providing complete information on 18

postpartum conditions, symptoms, methods of 19

coping with the illness, and treatment re- 20

sources; and 21

‘‘(B) in the case of a grantee that is a 22

State, hospital, or birthing facility— 23

‘‘(i) providing education to new moth- 24

ers and fathers, and other family members 25

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

as appropriate, concerning postpartum 1

conditions before new mothers leave the 2

health facility; and 3

‘‘(ii) ensuring that training programs 4

regarding such education are carried out 5

at the health facility. 6

‘‘(c) INTEGRATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—To 7

the extent practicable and appropriate, the Secretary may 8

integrate the grant program under this section with other 9

grant programs carried out by the Secretary, including the 10

program under section 330. 11

‘‘(d) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—A grant may be 12

made under this section only if the applicant involved 13

makes the following agreements: 14

‘‘(1) Not more than 5 percent of the grant will 15

be used for administration, accounting, reporting, 16

and program oversight functions. 17

‘‘(2) The grant will be used to supplement and 18

not supplant funds from other sources related to the 19

treatment of postpartum conditions. 20

‘‘(3) The applicant will abide by any limitations 21

deemed appropriate by the Secretary on any charges 22

to individuals receiving services pursuant to the 23

grant. As deemed appropriate by the Secretary, such 24

limitations on charges may vary based on the finan- 25

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

cial circumstances of the individual receiving serv- 1

ices. 2

‘‘(4) The grant will not be expended to make 3

payment for services authorized under subsection (a) 4

to the extent that payment has been made, or can 5

reasonably be expected to be made, with respect to 6

such services— 7

‘‘(A) under any State compensation pro- 8

gram, under an insurance policy, or under any 9

Federal or State health benefits program; or 10

‘‘(B) by an entity that provides health 11

services on a prepaid basis. 12

‘‘(5) The applicant will, at each site at which 13

the applicant provides services funded under sub- 14

section (a), post a conspicuous notice informing indi- 15

viduals who receive the services of any Federal poli- 16

cies that apply to the applicant with respect to the 17

imposition of charges on such individuals. 18

‘‘(6) For each grant period, the applicant will 19

submit to the Secretary a report that describes how 20

grant funds were used during such period. 21

‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 22

provide technical assistance to entities seeking a grant 23

under this section in order to assist such entities in com- 24

plying with the requirements of this section. 25

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1

‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible entity’— 2

‘‘(A) means a public or nonprofit private 3

entity; and 4

‘‘(B) includes a State or local government, 5

public-private partnership, recipient of a grant 6

under section 330H (relating to the Healthy 7

Start Initiative), public or nonprofit private 8

hospital, community-based organization, hos- 9

pice, ambulatory care facility, community health 10

center, migrant health center, public housing 11

primary care center, or homeless health center. 12

‘‘(2) The term ‘postpartum condition’ means 13

postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis.’’. 14

TITLE III—GENERAL 15

PROVISIONS 16

SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 17

To carry out this Act and the amendment made by 18

section 201, there are authorized to be appropriated, in 19

addition to such other sums as may be available for such 20

purpose— 21

(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 22

(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 23

years 2010 and 2011. 24

O:\WHI\WHI09031.xml S.L.C.

SEC. 302. REPORT BY THE SECRETARY. 1

(a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study on 2

the benefits of screening for postpartum conditions. 3

(b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 4

of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete 5

the study required by subsection (a) and submit a report 6

to the Congress on the results of such study. 7

SEC. 303. LIMITATION. 8

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or 9

the amendment made by section 201, the Secretary may 10

not utilize amounts made available under this Act or such 11

amendment to carry out activities or programs that are 12

duplicative of activities or programs that are already being 13

carried out through the Department of Health and 14

Human Services. 15