,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aadh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #ag1      
#bjag,mr4 ,brown 7for himself1 ,mrs4    
,capito1 ,mr4 ,king1 and ,mr4 ,portman7 
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,finance  ,a ,,bill  ,to  
amend title ,,xix of the ,social        
,security ,act to provide ,states with  
the option of providing medical         
assistance at a residential pediatric   
recovery center to infants under #a year
 of age with neonatal abstinence        
syndrome and their families4  #a4 ,short
 title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,caring ,recovery for ,infants and      
,babies ,act or the ,,crib ,act4  #b4   
,findings ,congress finds as follows3   
7#a7 ,neonatal abstinence syndrome      
7referred to in this section as ,,nas7  
is a group of conditions a newborn can  
have if the newborn was exposed to      
drugs1 including opioids while in the   
womb before birth4  7#b7 ,according to a

 report of the ,government              
,accountability ,office 7referred to in 
this section as the ,,gao report7       
symptoms of ,,nas include irritability1 
loud crying1 stiffness1 sweating1       
vomiting1 diarrhea1 poor feeding1       
seizures1 and respiratory distress4     
7#c7 ,according to the ,,gao report1 it 
is recommended that newborns with ,,nas 
receive a thorough evaluation and       
specialized and innovative treatment1   
when warranted4  7#d7 ,according to the 
,,gao report1 there is a program gap of 
available treatment programs for both   
pregnant women and newborns with ,,nas4 
7#e7 ,according to the ,,gao report1    
newborns with ,,nas stayed in the       
hospital on average #af days with an    
average hospital bill of #ec1jjj4  7#f7 
,according to ,,gao reports1 ,,nas has  
more than quadrupled in the past decade1
 increasing from #a4b per #a1jjj        
hospital births per year in #bjjj to    
#e4h per #a1jjj hospital births per year
 in #bjab2 and some regional studies    

have reported much higher incidences4   
7#g7 ,addressing the treatment of       
infants diagnosed with ,,nas will take  
innovative1 specialized1 and            
collaborative efforts4  7#h7 ,in ,july  
#bjaf1 ,congress passed1 and the        
,president signed into law1 the         
,comprehensive ,addiction and ,recovery 
,act of #bjaf 7,public ,law #aad-aih71  
which includes provisions that call for 
examining how infants with ,,nas are    
cared for 7including available options  
through ,state ,medicaid programs71     
assessing the different medical care    
models and settings to treat ,,nas1 and 
prioritizing finding best practices for 
treating infants with ,,nas4  #c4       
,medicaid ,state plan option to enter   
into provider agreements with           
residential pediatric recovery centers  
7a7 ,state plan amendment ,section      
#aijb7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acif;a7a77 is amended-- 
7#a7 in paragraph 7#hb71 by striking and
 after the semicolon2  7#b7 in paragraph

 7#hc71 by striking the period at the   
end and inserting 2 and2 and  7#c7 by   
inserting after paragraph 7#hc71 the    
following new paragraph3  7#hd7 provide1
 at the option of the ,state1 for making
 medical assistance available on an     
inpatient or outpatient basis at a      
residential pediatric recovery center   
7as defined in subsection 7nn77 for     
infants who are under #a year of age    
with neonatal abstinence syndrome and   
their families4  4  7b7 ,residential    
pediatric recovery center defined       
,section #aijb of such ,act 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #acif;a7 is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection3
  7nn7 ,residential pediatric recovery  
center defined ,for purposes of section 
#aijb7;a77#hd71 the term residential    
pediatric recovery center means a center
 or facility that furnishes items and   
services for which medical assistance is
 available under the ,state plan to     
infants who are under #a year of age    
with the diagnosis of neonatal          

abstinence syndrome without any other   
significant medical risk factors and to 
the families of such infants4  4  7c7   
,effective date ,the amendments made by 
this section take effect on ,october #a1
 #bjag1 and shall apply to medical      
assistance furnished on or after that   
date without regard to whether or not   
final regulations to carry out such     
amendments have been promulgated by such
 date4  #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is  
the sense of ,congress that residential 
pediatric recovery centers 7as defined  
in section #aijb7nn7 of the ,social     
,security ,act1 as added by section     
#c7;b77 should offer counseling and     
other services to mothers 7and other    
appropriate family members and          
caretakers7 of infants receiving        
treatment at such centers4 ,such        
services may include the following3     
7#a7 ,counseling or referrals for       
services4  7#b7 ,activities to encourage
 mother-infant bonding4  7#c7 ,training 
on caring for such infants4