1.This Act may be cited as
the Healthy Children and Families Act
of 2007
.
2.
(a)Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Medicaid and the
State Children’s Health Insurance Program have collectively provided health
insurance coverage to over 38,000,000 low-income pregnant women and
children.
(2)Evidence-based
nurse home visitation programs can improve the health status of low-income
pregnant women and children enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program by promoting access to prenatal and well-baby care,
reducing pre-term births, reducing high-risk pregnancies, increasing time
intervals between first and subsequent births, and improving child cognitive,
social and behavioral skills, and development.
(3)In addition to
health benefits, evidence-based nurse home visitation programs have been proven
to increase maternal employment and economic self-sufficiency and significantly
reduce child abuse and neglect, child arrests, maternal arrests, and
involvement in the criminal justice system.
(4)Evidence-based
nurse home visitation programs are cost effective, yielding a 5-to-1 return on
investment for every dollar spent on services, and producing a net benefit to
society of $34,000 per high risk family served.
(b)The purpose of this Act is to encourage
States to utilize evidence-based nurse home visitation services for low-income
pregnant mothers and children to—
(1)improve the prenatal health of
children;
(2)improve pregnancy
outcomes;
(3)improve child
health and development;
(4)improve child
development and mental health related to elementary school readiness;
(5)improve family
stability and economic self-sufficiency;
(6)reduce the
incidence of child abuse and neglect;
(7)reduce maternal
and child involvement in the criminal justice system; and
(8)increase birth
intervals between pregnancies.
3.Additional
options for States to provide nurse home visitation services
(a)Section
2110(a)(15) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397jj(a)(15)) is
amended—
(1)by inserting
(A)
after (15)
; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(B)(i)Evidence-based nurse
home visitation services (such as services related to improving prenatal
health, pregnancy outcomes, child health and development, school readiness,
family stability and economic self-sufficiency, reducing child abuse, neglect,
and injury, reducing maternal and child involvement in the criminal justice
system, and increasing birth intervals between pregnancies) on behalf of a
targeted low-income child who has not attained age 2 and is the first live
birth to a biological mother, but only if such services are provided in
accordance with outcome standards that have been replicated in multiple,
rigorous, randomized controlled trials in multiple sites, with outcomes that
improve prenatal health of children, pregnancy outcomes, child health, child
development, academic achievement, and mental health, reduce child abuse,
neglect, and injury, reduce maternal and child involvement in the criminal
justice system, increase birth intervals between pregnancies, and improve
maternal
employment.
.
(b)Section
1905(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(a)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(27), by striking and
at the end;
(2)by redesignating
paragraph (28) as paragraph (29); and
(3)by inserting
after paragraph (27) the following:
(28)evidence-based
nurse home visitation services (such as services related to improving prenatal
health, pregnancy outcomes, child health and development, school readiness,
family stability and economic self-sufficiency, reducing child abuse, neglect,
and injury, reducing maternal and child involvement in the criminal justice
system, and increasing birth intervals between pregnancies) for a first-time
pregnant woman or on behalf of a child who has not attained age 2 and is the
first live birth to a biological mother, but only if such services are provided
in accordance with outcome standards that have been replicated in multiple,
rigorous, randomized controlled trials in multiple sites, with outcomes that
improve prenatal health of children, pregnancy outcomes, child health, child
development, academic achievement, and mental health, reduce child abuse,
neglect, and injury, reduce maternal and child involvement in the criminal
justice system, increase birth intervals between pregnancies, and improve
maternal employment;
and
.
(c)Nothing in the amendments made by this Act shall be
construed as affecting the ability of a State under the Medicaid program under
title XIX of the Social Security Act or the State Children's Health Insurance
Program under title XXI of such Act to provide nurse home visitation services
as part of another class of items and services falling within the definition of
medical assistance or child health assistance under such titles, or as an
administrative expenditure for which payment is made under section 1903(a) or
2105(a) of such Act, on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d)Timely approval
of amendments or proposalsThe Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall, in a timely manner, review and notify a State of the
Secretary's approval or disapproval of—
(1)any proposed
amendment to a State Medicaid plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act
to provide nurse home visitation services as medical assistance described in
section 1905(a)(28) of such Act;
(2)any proposed
amendment to a State child health plan under title XXI of such Act to provide
such services as child health assistance described in section 2110(a)(15)(B) of
such Act; or
(3)any proposal
submitted under section 1115 of such Act to provide nurse home visitation
services described in sections 1905(a)(28) and 2110(a)(15)(B) of such Act under
a waiver approved under such section 1115.
(e)The amendments made by this section take effect on October
1, 2007, and apply to child health assistance provided under title XXI of the
Social Security Act and medical assistance provided under title XIX of such Act
on or after that date.