[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2433 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2433
To require providers to disclose policies regarding the minimum
gestational age at which life-saving care will be provided to an infant
in the case of a premature birth.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2025
Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Scott of Florida, Ms. Lummis, and Mrs.
Hyde-Smith) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require providers to disclose policies regarding the minimum
gestational age at which life-saving care will be provided to an infant
in the case of a premature birth.
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 ``Neonatal Care Transparency Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) Different hospitals have varying capacities to
resuscitate premature babies.
(2) There are parents of premature babies who have arrived
at level 3 and level 4 neonatal intensive care units expecting
medical intervention, only to find that life-saving treatment
is not offered for babies born before a certain gestational
point.
(3) Some hospitals in the United States universally forgo
intensive care for babies born before 22 weeks gestation, while
others provide such care to nearly all babies born alive.
(4) Data indicates that neonatal outcomes are best for
premature babies when the baby is born at a center that
consistently intervenes with life-saving treatment.
(5) Parents deserve a new level of obstetric and neonatal
transparency to ensure medical excellence in circumstances of
extreme prematurity and parental consent to the course of
treatment.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Hospital Requirement.--Each hospital shall publicly disclose
the policy of such hospital regarding the provision of life-saving care
to an infant in the case of a premature birth, including--
(1) whether there is a minimum gestational age at which
life-saving care will be provided to an infant in the case of a
premature birth;
(2) whether the decision to provide life-saving care to an
infant in the case of a premature birth is made on a case-by-
case basis; and
(3) the process by which the hospital, in the case of a
premature birth or expected premature birth, would transfer the
infant and mother to the nearest facility with a neonatal
intensive care unit that would provide life-saving care to the
infant, if the hospital does not have the capacity to provide
life-saving care to such infant.
(b) Practitioner Requirement.--Each obstetrician, or other health
care practitioner who provides obstetric services to patients, shall,
at the first prenatal visit of a patient, disclose to the patient the
policy of any hospital at which the obstetrician or practitioner has
admitting privileges regarding the provision of life-saving care to an
infant in the case of a premature birth, including--
(1) whether there is a minimum gestational age at which
life-saving care will be provided to an infant in the case of a
premature birth;
(2) whether the decision to provide life-saving care to an
infant in the case of a premature birth is made on a case-by-
case basis; and
(3) the process by which the hospital, in the case of a
premature birth or expected premature birth, would arrange for
the transfer the infant and mother to the nearest facility with
a neonatal intensive care unit that would provide life-saving
care to the infant, if the facility in which the practitioner
is providing services does not have the capacity to provide
life-saving care to such infant.
SEC. 4. HOSPITAL DISCLOSURES REGARDING CARE FOR PREMATURE BIRTHS.
Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) by moving subparagraphs (W) and (X) 2 ems to the left;
(2) in subparagraph (X), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(3) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``, and''; and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) the following new
subparagraph:
``(Z) beginning on or after January 1, 2026, in the
case of a hospital, to--
``(i) satisfy the disclosure requirement
under section 3(a) of the Neonatal Care
Transparency Act of 2025; and
``(ii) require each practitioner that
provides obstetric services at such hospital to
satisfy the disclosure requirement under
section 3(b) of such Act.''.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITING FEDERAL MEDICAID AND CHIP FUNDING FOR HOSPITALS AND
OBSTETRICS PROVIDERS THAT DO NOT SATISFY DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1903(i) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396b(i)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (26), by striking ``; or'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (27), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; or'';
(3) by inserting after paragraph (27) the following new
paragraph:
``(28) with respect to any amounts expended for care or
services furnished under the plan by a hospital or by a health
care provider who provides obstetric services to individuals
who are eligible for medical assistance under the plan unless
such hospital or provider satisfies the disclosure requirements
described in section 3 of Neonatal Care Transparency Act of
2025.''; and
(4) in the third sentence, by striking ``and (18)'' and
inserting ``(18), and (28)''.
(b) Application to CHIP.--Section 2107(e)(1)(O) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397gg(e)(1)(O)) is amended by striking ``and
(17)'' and inserting ``(17), and (28)''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this subsection shall
take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
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