[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 51454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18268]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Proposed Updates to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule as 
Part of the HRSA-Supported Preventive Services Guidelines for Infants, 
Children, and Adolescents

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Periodicity Schedule of the Bright Futures Recommendations 
for Pediatric Preventive Health Care (``Bright Futures Periodicity 
Schedule''), as part of the HRSA-supported preventive service 
guidelines for infants, children, and adolescents, is maintained in 
part through a national cooperative agreement, the Bright Futures 
Pediatric Implementation Program.

DATES: Members of the public are invited to provide written comments no 
later than September 21, 2020. All comments received on or before this 
date will be reviewed and considered by the Bright Futures Periodicity 
Schedule Workgroup and provided for further consideration by HRSA in 
determining the recommended updates that it will support.

ADDRESSES: Members of the public interested in providing comments can 
do so by accessing the public comment web page at: https://mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-topics/child-health/bright-futures.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bethany Miller, HRSA, Maternal and 
Child Health Bureau, email: [email protected], telephone: (301) 945-
5156.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bright Futures Program has been funded 
as a cooperative agreement by HRSA since 1990. A primary focus of this 
program is for the funding recipient to maintain and update the Bright 
Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and 
Adolescents, a set of materials and tools for providing quality 
preventive care screenings and well-child visits. One component of 
these tools is the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule, a chart that 
identifies the recommended screenings, assessments, physical 
examinations, and procedures to be delivered within preventive checkups 
at each age milestone. Over the program's existence, the Bright Futures 
Periodicity Schedule has become the accepted schedule within the United 
States for preventive health services through the course of a child's 
development.
    Under the Public Health Service Act, non-grandfathered group health 
plans and health insurance issuers must include coverage, without cost 
sharing, for certain preventive services, for plan years (in the 
individual market, policy years) that begin on or after the date that 
is one year after the date the recommendation or guideline is issued. 
These include preventive health services provided for in the Bright 
Futures Periodicity Schedule as part of the HRSA-supported Preventive 
Services Guidelines for Infants, Children, and Adolescents. A panel of 
pediatric primary care experts convened to review the latest evidence 
and recommends updating the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule to 
include screening all individuals ages 18 and older at least once for 
hepatitis C virus infection. This proposed update aligns with the 
United States Preventive Services Task Force's recommendation that all 
adults ages 18 to 79 be screened at least once for hepatitis C virus 
infection.
    The American Academy of Pediatrics, which has been the HRSA 
cooperative agreement recipient for this program since 2007, maintains 
the Periodicity Schedule. Under HRSA's cooperative agreement with the 
American Academy of Pediatrics, the Bright Futures Program is required 
to administer a process for developing and regularly recommending, as 
needed, updates to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule. As 
described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Bright Futures 
Program (HRSA-18-078), the consideration of potential updates is 
expected to be ``a comprehensive, objective, and transparent review of 
available evidence that incorporates opportunity for public comment.''

Thomas J. Engels,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-18268 Filed 8-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P