[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 174 (Monday, September 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 50894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19630]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Opportunity for Comments on 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: This notice seeks public comment on several proposed updates 
to 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. Please see https://mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-topics/child-health/bright-futures.html for additional information. The Periodicity Schedule is 
maintained in part through a national cooperative agreement, the Bright 
Futures Pediatric Implementation Program. If accepted by HRSA, a 
proposed update to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule will provide 
additional clinical guidance to providers and, under the Public Health 
Service Act, would require certain insurance plans and issuers to 
provide coverage without cost-sharing of such updated preventive care 
and screenings.

DATES: Members of the public are invited to provide written comments no 
later than October 13, 2021. 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 who wish to provide 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: Savannah Kidd, HRSA, Maternal and 
Child Health Bureau, email: [email protected], telephone: (301) 287-2601.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. Under Section 2713 of 
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 1-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 has 
identified proposed updates to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule 
in several areas in response to new evidence impacting children. The 
proposed updates to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule are: (1) A 
new category for sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death risk 
assessment, (2) a new category for hepatitis B virus infection risk 
assessment, (3) add suicide risk as an element of universal screening 
for children ages 12-21, and (4) update of Psychosocial/Behavioral 
Assessment to Behavioral/Social/Emotional Screening. The updated 
category title will be ``Behavioral/Social/Emotional Screening'' with 
no revision to the ages in which the screening occurs (newborn to 21 
years). Finally, two references related to dental fluoride varnish and 
fluoride supplementation are proposed to be added with no recommended 
changes to clinical practice.
    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. 
Accordingly, the award recipient will review the evidence on an annual 
basis to determine whether updates are needed, using a deliberative 
review process by experts qualified to conduct such a review; 
administer the receipt and consideration of public comments for a 
minimum of 30 calendar days following publication of the Federal 
Register Notice setting forth the proposed updates; and provide to HRSA 
a written report that sets forth its recommended updates, including a 
summary of the public comments it received, a list of general topics 
that were commented on and its responses to those comments.''
    Authority: 2713(a)(3) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 
300gg-13(a)(3).

Diana Espinosa,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-19630 Filed 9-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P