,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dedh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #bg1      
#bjai,mr4 ,vargas 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,engel1 and ,mr4 ,cox of ,california7   
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize 
the ,director of the ,centers for       
,disease ,control and ,prevention to    
award grants to eligible counties for   
the use of mobile clinics and distance  
learning and telemedicine to diagnose   
and treat children with asthma in rural 
areas and medically underserved         
communities1 and for other purposes4    
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,asthma ,care and ,prevention in
 ,rural ,communities ,act of #bjai4  #b4
 ,findings ,congress finds the          
following3  7#a7 ,asthma has a high     
morbidity and can even lead to death if 
not properly managed4  7#b7 ,nationally1
 over #be million people suffer from    
asthma according to the most recent     

statistics from the ,centers for        
,disease ,control and ,prevention4  7#c7
 ,nationally1 of those who suffer from  
asthma1 #dc4f percent of adults report  
one or more asthma attacks annually1 and
 of all children who suffer from asthma1
 #ea4f percent report one or more asthma
 attacks annually4  7#d7 ,nationally the
 prevalence of asthma among children is 
#h4d percent4  7#e7 ,when asthma is     
controlled1 it can lead to fewer school 
and work days missed1 hospitalizations1 
and emergency room visits4  7#f7 ,while 
asthma is often believed to be a greater
 problem for urban centers1 the burden  
of asthma on rural communities in the   
,united ,states is understudied4  7#g7  
,some research suggests that certain    
rural areas face the same risk factors  
as cities4  7#h7 ,research shows that   
rural communities may have a harder time
 accessing care for asthma1 due to lack 
of transportation to and the distance of
 residents from health care services4   
7#i7 ,mobile asthma clinics have been   

proven to help medically underserved    
communities manage this disease while   
providing cost-saving measures4  #c4    
,addressing the burden of asthma in     
rural areas and medically underserved   
communities  7a7 ,grants for mobile     
clinics and distance learning and       
telemedicine  7#a7 ,authorization ,the  
,director of the ,centers for ,disease  
,control and ,prevention may award      
grants to eligible counties for the use 
of mobile clinics and distance learning 
and telemedicine--  7,a7 to diagnose and
 treat children with asthma in rural    
areas1 and medically underserved        
communities1 in eligible counties2 and  
7,b7 to educate individuals in such     
areas and communities about asthma4     
7#b7 ,subgrants ,an eligible county     
receiving a grant under paragraph 7#a7  
may use the grant funds to award        
subgrants to schools1 hospitals1 or     
other local organizations to administer 
mobile clinics and distance learning and
 telemedicine in the county for the     

purposes listed in paragraph 7#a74  7#c7
 ,definitions ,in this subsection3  7,a7
 ,the term children means individuals   
under #ah years of age4  7,b7 ,the term 
eligible counties means counties that   
each have a prevalence of asthma of #ab 
percent or higher among children4  7,c7 
,the term medically underserved         
community has the meaning given such    
term in section #gii;,b of the ,public  
,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4    
#biep74  7#d7 ,authorization of         
appropriations ,to carry out this       
subsection1 there is authorized to be   
appropriated #e1jjj1jjj for each of     
fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4  7b7  
,study ,the ,director of the ,centers   
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention   
shall-- 7#a7 conduct a study on--  7,a7 
the burden of asthma in rural areas of  
the ,united ,states2  7,b7 risk and     
protective factors for asthma in such   
areas2 and  7,c7 best practices for     
preventing and treating asthma in such  
areas2  7#b7 ensure that data used in   

such study is disaggregated such that no
 racial or ethnic subgroup is overlooked
 due to the absence of asthma in the    
larger group to which that subgroup     
belongs2 and  7#c7 not later than #a    
year after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 complete such study and submit a 
report to the ,congress on the results  
of such study4