[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2779
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment
of a Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 21, 2021
Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mr. Tillis) 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 provide for the establishment
of a Task Force on Maternal Mental Health, 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 ``Taskforce Recommending Improvements
for Unaddressed Mental Perinatal & Postpartum Health for New Moms Act
of 2021'' or the ``TRIUMPH for New Moms Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. TASK FORCE ON MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH.
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317L-1 (42 U.S.C. 247b-
13a) the following:
``SEC. 317L-2. TASK FORCE ON MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of the Taskforce Recommending Improvements for Unaddressed
Mental Perinatal & Postpartum Health for New Moms Act of 2021, the
Secretary shall establish a task force, to be known as the Task Force
on Maternal Mental Health (in this section referred to as the `Task
Force'), to identify, evaluate, and make recommendations to coordinate
and improve Federal responses to maternal mental health conditions.
``(b) Membership.--
``(1) Composition.--The Task Force shall be composed of--
``(A) the Assistant Secretary for Health of the
Department of Health and Human Services (or the
Assistant Secretary's designee) who shall serve as the
Chair of the Task Force;
``(B) the Federal members under paragraph (2); and
``(C) the non-Federal members under paragraph (3).
``(2) Federal members.--In addition to the Assistant
Secretary for Health, the Federal members of the Task Force
shall consist of the heads of the following Federal departments
and agencies (or their designees):
``(A) The Administration for Children and Families.
``(B) The Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality.
``(C) The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
``(D) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
``(E) The Health Resources and Services
Administration.
``(F) The Food and Drug Administration.
``(G) The Indian Health Service.
``(H) The Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
``(I) The Office of Minority Health of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
``(J) The Office of the Surgeon General of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
``(K) The Office of Women's Health of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
``(L) The National Institutes of Health.
``(M) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration.
``(N) Such other Federal departments and agencies
that serve individuals with maternal mental health
conditions as the Secretary determines appropriate,
such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the
Department of Defense.
``(3) Non-federal members.--The non-Federal members of the
Task Force shall--
``(A) compose not more than one-half, and not less
than one-third, of the total membership of the Task
Force;
``(B) be appointed by the Secretary; and
``(C) include--
``(i) representatives of medical societies
with expertise in maternal mental health or
maternal health and mental health;
``(ii) representatives of nonprofit
organizations with expertise in maternal mental
health or maternal health and mental health;
``(iii) at least one individual who has
received a diagnosis of a maternal mental
health condition; and
``(iv) other representatives, as
appropriate.
``(4) Deadline for designating designees.--If the Assistant
Secretary for Health, or the head of a Federal department or
agency serving as a member of the Task Force under paragraph
(2), chooses to be represented on the Task Force by a designee,
the Assistant Secretary or head shall designate such designee
not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the
Taskforce Recommending Improvements for Unaddressed Mental
Perinatal & Postpartum Health for New Moms Act of 2021.
``(c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
``(1) create and regularly update a report that identifies,
analyzes, and evaluates the state of national maternal mental
health policy and programs at the Federal, State, and local
levels, and identifies best practices including--
``(A) a set of evidence-based, evidence-informed,
and promising practices with respect to--
``(i) prevention strategies for maternal
mental health conditions, including strategies
and recommendations to address social
determinants of health;
``(ii) the identification, screening,
diagnosis, and treatment of, and intervention
with respect to, maternal mental health
conditions, including with respect to affected
families;
``(iii) the expeditious referral to, and
implementation of, practices and supports that
prevent and mitigate the effects of a maternal
mental health condition, including strategies
and recommendations to eliminate the racial and
ethnic disparities that exist in maternal
mental health; and
``(iv) community-based or multigenerational
practices that provide support relating to
maternal mental health conditions, including
support for affected families; and
``(B) Federal and State programs and activities to
prevent, screen, diagnose, intervene, and treat
maternal mental health conditions;
``(2) develop and regularly update a national strategy for
maternal mental health, taking into consideration the findings
of the reports under paragraph (1), on how the Task Force and
Federal departments and agencies represented on the Task Force
will prioritize options for, and implement a coordinated
approach to, addressing maternal mental health conditions,
including by--
``(A) increasing prevention, screening, diagnosis,
intervention, treatment, and access to care, including
clinical and nonclinical care such as peer-support and
community health workers, through the public and
private sectors;
``(B) providing support relating to the prevention
or treatment of mental health conditions, including, as
appropriate, support for families;
``(C) reducing racial, ethnic, geographic, and
other health disparities for prevention, diagnosis,
intervention, treatment, and access to maternal mental
health care;
``(D) identifying opportunities for local- and
State-level partnerships;
``(E) identifying options for modifying,
strengthening, and coordinating Federal programs and
activities, including existing infant and maternity
programs, such as the Medicaid program under title XIX
of the Social Security Act and the State Children's
Health Insurance Program under title XXI of such Act,
in order to increase research, prevention,
identification, intervention, and treatment with
respect to maternal mental health;
``(F) providing recommendations to ensure research,
services, supports, and prevention activities are not
unnecessarily duplicative; and
``(G) planning, data sharing, and communication
within and across Federal departments, agencies,
offices, and programs; and
``(3) solicit public comments from stakeholders for the
report under paragraph (1) and the national strategy under
paragraph (2), including comments from frontline service
providers, mental health professionals, researchers, experts in
maternal mental health, institutions of higher education,
public health agencies (including maternal and child health
programs), and industry representatives, in order to inform the
activities and reports of the Task Force.
``(d) Meetings.--The Task Force shall--
``(1) meet not less than 2 times each year; and
``(2) convene public meetings, as appropriate, to fulfill
its duties under this section.
``(e) Reports to Public and Federal Leaders.--
``(1) In general.--The Task Force shall make publicly
available and submit to the heads of relevant Federal
departments and agencies, the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and other
relevant congressional committees, the following:
``(A) Not later than 1 year after the first meeting
of the Task Force, an initial report under subsection
(c)(1).
``(B) Not later than 2 years after the first
meeting of the Task Force, an initial national strategy
under subsection (c)(2).
``(C) Each year thereafter--
``(i) an updated report under subsection
(c)(1);
``(ii) an updated national strategy under
subsection (c)(2); or
``(iii) if no such update is made, a report
summarizing the activities of the Task Force.
``(2) Requirement.--The Task Force shall ensure that
reports under this section include data on demographic
characteristics, in a de-identified and disaggregated manner,
including with respect to race, ethnicity, age, sex, geographic
region, marital status, socioeconomic status, and other
relevant factors.
``(f) Reports to Governors.--Upon finalizing the initial national
strategy under subsection (c)(2), and upon making relevant updates to
such strategy, the Task Force shall submit a report to the Governors of
all States describing opportunities for local- and State-level
partnerships identified under subsection (c)(2)(D).
``(g) Definition.--In this section, the term `maternal mental
health condition' means a mental health disorder that onsets during the
pregnancy or within one year of the postpartum or perinatal period,
including all pregnancy outcomes.
``(h) Sunset.--The Task Force shall terminate on the date that is 6
years after the date on which the Task Force is established under
subsection (a).''.
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