[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2311 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2311

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of 
  Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the 
Health Resources and Services Administration, to make grants to States 
          for screening and treatment for maternal depression.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 19, 2015

 Mr. Heller (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Ayotte, and Mr. Markey) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of 
  Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the 
Health Resources and Services Administration, to make grants to States 
          for screening and treatment for maternal depression.

    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 ``Bringing Postpartum Depression Out 
of the Shadows Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Depression is a medical, physiologic illness, and not a 
        sign of weakness or poor parenting.
            (2) Maternal depression includes major and minor depressive 
        episodes that occur during pregnancy or in the first 12 months 
        after delivery.
            (3) An estimated 9 to 16 percent of new mothers experience 
        postpartum depression.
            (4) Every year, more than 400,000 infants are born to 
        mothers who have depression, which makes perinatal depression 
        the most underdiagnosed obstetric complication in the United 
        States.
            (5) The consequences of maternal depression include poor 
        bonding between mother and infant, which may have negative 
        effects on cognitive development, social-emotional development, 
        and behavior of the child.
            (6) Maternal suicide exceeds hemorrhage and hypertensive 
        disorders as a cause of maternal mortality.
            (7) About 90 percent of women who have maternal depression 
        can be treated successfully with a combination of medication 
        and counseling.
            (8) States and professional organizations are taking the 
        lead in addressing this problem, through public awareness 
        campaigns, resource collection, and even promoting phone 
        consultations.
            (9) Congress should provide resources to support State 
        teams, and help them find innovative solutions to this problem.

SEC. 3. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR MATERNAL DEPRESSION.

    The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 
317L of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-13) the following:

``SEC. 317L-1. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR MATERNAL DEPRESSION.

    ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 
the Health Resources and Services Administration, may make grants to 
States to establish, expand, or maintain culturally competent programs 
for screening and treatment of women who are pregnant, or who have 
given birth within the preceding 12 months, for maternal depression.
    ``(b) Number.--The Secretary shall make grants under this section 
to not fewer than 3 States.
    ``(c) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, a State 
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
At a minimum, any such application shall include explanations of--
            ``(1) how the State's proposed program will increase the 
        percentage of women screened and treated for maternal 
        depression in one or more communities; and
            ``(2) how the State's proposed program, if expanded, would 
        lead to substantial increases in screening and treatment for 
        maternal depression.
    ``(d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to States proposing to expand or enhance 
screening for maternal depression in primary care settings, including 
family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, 
preventive medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry.
    ``(e) Use of Funds.--The activities eligible for funding through a 
grant under subsection (a)--
            ``(1) shall include--
                    ``(A) providing appropriate training to health care 
                providers; and
                    ``(B) providing relevant resources to health care 
                providers, including information on maternal depression 
                screening, treatment, and followup support, and 
                linkages to community-based resources; and
            ``(2) may include--
                    ``(A) enabling health care providers (including 
                obstetrician-gynecologists, pediatricians, 
                psychiatrists, mental health care providers, and adult 
                primary care clinicians) to provide or receive real-
                time psychiatric consultation (in-person or remotely) 
                to aid in the treatment of pregnant and postpartum 
                women;
                    ``(B) conducting a public awareness campaign;
                    ``(C) funding start-up costs for phone lines, 
                websites, the collection and dissemination of 
                information, and other relevant resources and services; 
                and
                    ``(D) establishing linkages with and among 
                community-based resources, including mental health 
                resources, primary care resources, and support groups.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2016 through 2020.''.
                                 <all>