Q&A: House members introduce bill to address congenital syphilis epidemic
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Key takeaways:
- A proposed bill would enable HHS to further address the congenital syphilis epidemic.
- STI prevention is vastly underfunded, according to one expert.
Late last month, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced H.R. 8839, the bipartisan Maternal and Infant Syphilis Prevention Act.
Amid an epidemic of congenital syphilis in the United States, the bill calls for HHS to issue guidance on practices for screening pregnant patients for syphilis. Congenital syphilis prevention would also be covered under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The bill is currently being discussed in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Healio spoke with David C. Harvey, MSW, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, which has endorsed the bill.
Healio: What is in the bill?
Harvey: The Maternal and Infant Syphilis Prevention Act is the first action Congress has taken to help states address the raging epidemic of syphilis and congenital syphilis.
The bipartisan bill specifically directs HHS to provide all Medicaid and CHIP programs with strong guidance on how to take targeted steps to implement best practices for syphilis prevention, such as standardizing screening and treatment during pregnancy and increasing education for health care providers who may only be seeing syphilis now for the first time in their careers.
We’re starting to see some states, such as North Carolina, use their Medicaid program in very effective ways to increase very effective, evidence-based testing and treatment strategies, and this bill will help every state take those targeted steps.
Healio: What is not in the bill, but should be?
Harvey: Authorizing legislation like this is so important because it directs states to use the programs they already have as a way to increase existing prevention and treatment strategies. Ultimately, the nation needs more funding to address our out-of-control epidemics of sexually transmitted infections. STI prevention is drastically underfunded. We hope the Maternal and Infant Syphilis Prevention Act sends the message that curbing syphilis is a priority for the nation’s health and one that we ultimately need to address with both stronger policies and funding.
Healio: What hope do you have that it will pass?
Harvey: This bipartisan bill is the most significant and welcome action from Congress yet to get the congenital syphilis emergency under control, and it is essential before we lose more pregnancies and infants to a curable infection that was once eradicated. We hope to see it enacted and we hope to see more of our nation’s leaders put their weight behind serious efforts to stop syphilis.
We are grateful for the work Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD, has done in convening the Federal Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Task Force. It’s frustrating to see out-of-control syphilis when we have existing treatments and strategies to stop it. Admiral Levine’s leadership in HHS, coupled with this new bipartisan effort in Congress, finally gives us the kind of national effort we need to get our syphilis epidemic under control.
Reference:
- NCSD endorses Congressional Bipartisan Maternal & Infant Syphilis Prevention Act. https://www.ncsddc.org/ncsd-endorses-congressional-bipartisan-maternal-infant-syphilis-prevention-act/. Published June 27, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024.
For more information:
Interested parties can find out more information about the bill at ncsddc.org.
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