[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6608 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6608

   To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on 
                    asthma, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 27, 2012

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on 
                    asthma, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Family Asthma Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The number of people with asthma increased by 50 
        percent between 1998 and 2010. According to the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010 more than 25,000,000 
        Americans had been diagnosed with asthma, including an 
        estimated 7,000,000 children.
            (2) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, in 2009 more than 3,300 Americans died from asthma. 
        The rate of mortality from asthma is higher among African-
        Americans and women.
            (3) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 
        that asthma accounted for 480,000 hospitalizations in 2009 and 
        1,800,000 visits to hospital emergency departments in 2007.
            (4) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the annual cost of asthma to the United States is 
        approximately $56,000,000,000, including $6,000,000,000 in 
        indirect costs from lost productivity.
            (5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, 10,500,000 school days and 14,200,000 work days are 
        missed annually as a result of asthma.
            (6) Asthma episodes can be triggered by both outdoor air 
        pollution and indoor air pollution, including pollutants such 
        as cigarette smoke and combustion by-products. Asthma episodes 
        can also be triggered by indoor allergens such as animal dander 
        and outdoor allergens such as pollen and molds.
            (7) Public health interventions and medical care in 
        accordance with existing guidelines have been proven effective 
        in the treatment and management of asthma. Better asthma 
        management could reduce the numbers of emergency department 
        visits and hospitalizations due to asthma. Studies published in 
        medical journals have shown that better asthma management 
        results in improved asthma outcomes at a lower cost.
            (8) In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        reported that less than half of people with asthma had been 
        taught how to avoid asthma triggers. More education about 
        triggers, proper treatment, and asthma management methods is 
        needed.
            (9) The alarming rise in the prevalence of asthma, its 
        adverse effect on school attendance and productivity, and its 
        cost for hospitalizations and emergency room visits, highlight 
        the importance of public health interventions, including 
        increasing awareness of asthma as a chronic illness, its 
        symptoms, the role of both indoor and outdoor environmental 
        factors that exacerbate the disease, and other factors that 
        affect its exacerbations and severity. The goals of the Federal 
        Government and its partners in the nonprofit and private 
        sectors should include reducing the number and severity of 
        asthma attacks, asthma's financial burden, and the health 
        disparities associated with asthma.

SEC. 3. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 
              AND PREVENTION.

    Section 317I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-10) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 317I. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE 
              CONTROL AND PREVENTION.

    ``(a) Program for Providing Information and Education to the 
Public.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, shall collaborate with State and local 
health departments to conduct activities, including the provision of 
information and education to the public regarding asthma including--
            ``(1) deterring the harmful consequences of uncontrolled 
        asthma; and
            ``(2) disseminating health education and information 
        regarding prevention of asthma episodes and strategies for 
        managing asthma.
    ``(b) Development of State Asthma Plans.--The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
shall collaborate with State and local health departments to develop 
State plans incorporating public health responses to reduce the burden 
of asthma, particularly regarding disproportionately affected 
populations.
    ``(c) Compilation of Data.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall, in 
cooperation with State and local public health officials--
            ``(1) conduct asthma surveillance activities to collect 
        data on the prevalence and severity of asthma, the 
        effectiveness of public health asthma interventions, and the 
        quality of asthma management, including--
                    ``(A) collection of household data on the local 
                burden of asthma;
                    ``(B) surveillance of health care facilities; and
                    ``(C) collection of data not containing 
                individually identifiable information from electronic 
                health records or other electronic communications;
            ``(2) compile and annually publish data regarding the 
        prevalence and incidence of childhood asthma, the child 
        mortality rate, and the number of hospital admissions and 
        emergency department visits by children associated with asthma 
        nationally and in each State and at the county level by age, 
        sex, race, and ethnicity, as well as lifetime and current 
        prevalence; and
            ``(3) compile and annually publish data regarding the 
        prevalence and incidence of adult asthma, the adult mortality 
        rate, and the number of hospital admissions and emergency 
        department visits by adults associated with asthma nationally 
        and in each State and at the county level by age, sex, race, 
        ethnicity, industry, and occupation, as well as lifetime and 
        current prevalence.
    ``(d) Coordination of Data Collection.--The Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with State and local 
health departments, shall coordinate data collection activities under 
subsection (c)(2) so as to maximize the comparability of results.
    ``(e) Collaboration.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention are encouraged to collaborate with national, State, 
        and local nonprofit organizations to provide information and 
        education about asthma, and to strengthen such collaborations 
        when possible.
            ``(2) Specific activities.--The Division of Adolescent and 
        School Health is encouraged to expand its activities with non-
        Federal partners, especially State-level entities.
    ``(f) Additional Funding.--In addition to any other authorization 
of appropriations that is available to the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention for the purpose of carrying out this section, there is 
authorized to be appropriated to such Centers such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017 for the purpose of 
carrying out this section.
    ``(g) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation 
        with patient groups, nonprofit organizations, medical 
        societies, and other relevant governmental and nongovernmental 
        entities, submit to Congress a report that--
                    ``(A) catalogs, with respect to asthma prevention, 
                management, and surveillance--
                            ``(i) the activities of the Federal 
                        Government, including an assessment of the 
                        progress of the Federal Government and States, 
                        with respect to achieving the goals of the 
                        Healthy People 2020 initiative; and
                            ``(ii) the activities of other entities 
                        that participate in the program under this 
                        section, including nonprofit organizations, 
                        patient advocacy groups, and medical societies; 
                        and
                    ``(B) makes recommendations for the future 
                direction of asthma activities, in consultation with 
                researchers from the National Institutes of Health and 
                other member bodies of the National Asthma Education 
                and Prevention Program who are qualified to review and 
                analyze data and evaluate interventions, including--
                            ``(i) description of how the Federal 
                        Government may improve its response to asthma 
                        including identifying any barriers that may 
                        exist;
                            ``(ii) description of how the Federal 
                        Government may continue, expand, and improve 
                        its private-public partnerships with respect to 
                        asthma including identifying any barriers that 
                        may exist;
                            ``(iii) the identification of steps that 
                        may be taken to reduce the--
                                    ``(I) morbidity, mortality, and 
                                overall prevalence of asthma;
                                    ``(II) financial burden of asthma 
                                on society;
                                    ``(III) burden of asthma on 
                                disproportionately affected areas, 
                                particularly those in medically 
                                underserved populations (as defined in 
                                section 330(b)(3)); and
                                    ``(IV) burden of asthma as a 
                                chronic disease;
                            ``(iv) the identification of programs and 
                        policies that have achieved the steps described 
                        under clause (iii), and steps that may be taken 
                        to expand such programs and policies to benefit 
                        larger populations; and
                            ``(v) recommendations for future research 
                        and interventions.
            ``(2) Updates to congress.--
                    ``(A) Congressional request.--During the 5-year 
                period following the submission of the report under 
                paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit updates and 
                revisions of the report upon the request of the 
                Congress.
                    ``(B) Five-year reevaluation.--At the end of the 5-
                year period following the submission of the report 
                under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall evaluate the 
                analyses and recommendations made under such report and 
                determine whether a new report to the Congress is 
                necessary, and make appropriate recommendations to the 
                Congress.''.
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