Protecting Newborns from Opioids Act
Latest action (12 Apr 2018): Introduced
What this bill does
S. 2658, the Protecting Newborns from Opioids Act, would amend the Public Health Service Act to address neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition affecting infants exposed to opioids before birth. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the CDC, to award grants to states to build or improve systems for tracking cases of the syndrome, collect and analyze related data, and issue public reports on national trends. It also directs federal research into the long-term physical, educational, and neurodevelopmental effects on affected children, the prevalence of and reasons for opioid use among pregnant women or those who may become pregnant, and the comparative effectiveness of treatment approaches for affected infants.
The bill would primarily affect state and local health agencies, which could receive federal grants to develop surveillance systems, as well as the CDC and HHS, which would take on new data-collection, research, and reporting responsibilities. Ultimately, families, health providers, and researchers working on infant and maternal health related to opioid exposure would be affected by the resulting data and studies. The bill authorizes federal funding for these activities for fiscal years 2019 through 2023, without specifying a dollar amount.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on April 12, 2018, by Senator Bill Nelson, with Senator Marco Rubio as a cosponsor, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It did not receive a vote before the end of the 115th Congress, meaning it did not become law and would need to be reintroduced in a later Congress to be considered further.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
Protecting Newborns from Opioids Act
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to: (1) award grants to states to create or improve surveillance systems for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and analyze the data collected through the systems; and (2) conduct research on prevention, factors surrounding, and health outcomes of NAS. (NAS is a group of conditions caused when a baby withdraws from certain drugs the baby is exposed to in the womb before birth.)
Common questions
- What does S. 2658 do?
- S. 2658, the Protecting Newborns from Opioids Act, would amend the Public Health Service Act to address neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition affecting infants exposed to opioids before birth. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the CDC, to award grants to states to build or improve systems for tracking cases of the syndrome, collect and analyze related data, and issue public reports on national trends. It also directs federal research into the long-term physical, educational, and neurodevelopmental effects on affected children, the prevalence of and reasons for opioid use among pregnant women or those who may become pregnant, and the comparative effectiveness of treatment approaches for affected infants. The bill would primarily affect state and local health agencies, which could receive federal grants to develop surveillance systems, as well as the CDC and HHS, which would take on new data-collection, research, and reporting responsibilities. Ultimately, families, health providers, and researchers working on infant and maternal health related to opioid exposure would be affected by the resulting data and studies. The bill authorizes federal funding for these activities for fiscal years 2019 through 2023, without specifying a dollar amount. The bill was introduced in the Senate on April 12, 2018, by Senator Bill Nelson, with Senator Marco Rubio as a cosponsor, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It did not receive a vote before the end of the 115th Congress, meaning it did not become law and would need to be reintroduced in a later Congress to be considered further.
- Has S. 2658 become law?
- Not yet. As of 12 Apr 2018, S. 2658 is introduced.
- Who sponsored S. 2658?
- S. 2658 was sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson [D-FL, 2001-2018] (Democrat-FL), with 1 cosponsor.
- What's the latest action on S. 2658?
- Introduced (12 Apr 2018).
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