42 U.S.C. § 247b — Project grants for preventive health services

(a) Grant authority The Secretary may give grants to states, and — after consulting state health authorities — to political subdivisions of states and other public entities, to help pay for starting and running preventive health service programs. (b) Application No grant can be made under (a) unless the Secretary approves a written application. The application must follow the Secretary's rules and must include: (1) a complete description of the type and size of the program the applicant wants funding for; (2) for that program: (A) how much federal, state, and other money the applicant used in its latest annual accounting period, (B) a description of the services it provided in that period, (C) how much federal money it needs to keep providing those services, and (D) if the applicant plans to change the program, what those changes are, why, and how much federal money they need; (3) assurance that the funded program will match the State's current health plan, and, for a State applicant, will also match any plan approved under section 247 of this title; (4) assurance that the applicant will use the fiscal control and accounting procedures the Secretary requires, to properly track the money; (5) assurance that the applicant will periodically evaluate its program; (6) assurance that the applicant will file the reports the Secretary requires and keep records the Secretary can check to confirm those reports; (7) assurance that the applicant will follow every other condition this section places on grants; and (8) any other information the Secretary requires. (c) Approval; annual project review (1) If an applicant already got a grant for a program, the Secretary cannot approve a new application for that program unless the Secretary finds (A) the program is working effectively toward its goal, (B) the applicant kept its earlier assurances, and (C) the applicant will keep its current assurances. (2) The Secretary must review each grantee's activities every year to check whether its program is working effectively and whether the grantee is keeping its assurances. (d) Amount of grant; payment The Secretary decides how much each grant is worth. Payments can be made ahead of time based on estimates, or by reimbursement, with adjustments for underpayment or overpayment, on whatever schedule and terms the Secretary decides are needed. (e) Reduction At a grant recipient's request, the Secretary may lower the grant by (1) the fair market value of any supplies, including vaccines, or equipment given to the recipient, and (2) the pay, allowances, and travel costs of any government employee loaned to the recipient, plus other costs of that loan — when giving those supplies or that employee is for the recipient's convenience, at the recipient's request, to help run the funded program. The amount cut from the grant stays available for the Secretary to pay for those supplies or that employee, and counts as if it had been paid to the recipient. (f) Recordkeeping; audit authority (1) Each grant recipient must keep the records the Secretary requires, showing how it used the grant money, the full cost of the project, how much of that cost other sources covered, and anything else needed for a good audit. (2) The Secretary and the Comptroller General, or people they authorize, can examine a recipient's books and records connected to the grant, for audit purposes. (g) Use of grant funds; mandatory treatment prohibited (1) This section does not stop a recipient from using other federal grant money — that could otherwise pay for preventive health programs — alongside a grant made under this section. (2) This section cannot be read to force any state, agency, or subdivision to require a person who objects, or that person's child or ward, to be treated under a program funded here. (h) Reports As part of the report required under section 300u–4 of this title, the Secretary must include: how big a problem the diseases and conditions in (j) are; how much grant money under (a) was spent on each program listed in (j) in the past fiscal year; and how effective those grant-funded activities were at controlling those diseases and conditions. (i) Technical assistance The Secretary may give technical help to states, state health authorities, and other public entities running preventive health programs. (j) Authorization of appropriations (1) Except for the immunization funding set by (2), grants under (a) and (k)(1) for free vaccination programs get whatever money is necessary. No more than 10 percent of that total, in any year, can go to (k)(1) grants. (2) Grants under (a) to give free immunizations with approved, routinely recommended vaccines get whatever money is necessary. (k) Additional grants to states, political subdivisions, and other public and nonprofit private entities (1) The Secretary may grant states, political subdivisions, and other public or nonprofit entities for: (A) research on preventing vaccine-preventable diseases; (B) demonstration projects to prevent and control them; (C) public education programs about them; (D) training health professionals to prevent and control them; (E) planning, running, and evaluating efforts against vaccine-preventable diseases, including identifying high-risk communities, testing new ways to raise vaccination rates, cutting barriers to vaccines and reliable information, partnering with community groups and providers, improving how vaccine information reaches parents, and helping health departments engage high-risk communities; and (F) research on improving public understanding of accurate vaccine information, especially in communities with low vaccination rates. (2) The Secretary may also grant states, subdivisions, and other entities for (A) research into preventing diseases and conditions generally, (B) demonstration projects, (C) public education, and (D) professional training on those diseases and conditions. (3) No grant may be made under this subsection unless the applicant submits the application the Secretary requires. (4) Subsections (d), (e), and (f) — on payment, reduction, and recordkeeping — apply to grants under this subsection the same way they apply to grants under (a). (l) Authority to purchase recommended vaccines for adults (1) The Secretary may negotiate and sign contracts with vaccine makers to buy and deliver adult vaccines. (2) A state may buy extra doses of those adult vaccines, up to the amount it told the Secretary about in advance, at the price the Secretary negotiated. (m) Demonstration program to improve immunization coverage (1) The Secretary, through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, must set up a demonstration grant program to help states raise recommended immunization rates for children, teens, and adults, using proven strategies for high-risk populations. (2) To qualify, a state must apply with a plan describing the strategies it will use and how they fit local needs, worked out with local authorities. (3) Grant money must fund strategies recommended by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, or other evidence-based strategies, such as: (A) reminders for patients; (B) educating target populations and providers; (C) cutting out-of-pocket costs for vaccines and giving them; (D) immunization-boosting steps in public programs, like checking status, referrals, education, on-site shots, or incentives; (E) home visits that promote immunization; (F) reminders for providers; (G) assessing providers and giving them feedback; (H) any mix of these strategies; or (I) electronic immunization record systems. (4) In awarding these grants, the Secretary must consider the Task Force's reviews and recommendations. (5) Within 3 years of getting a grant, a state must send the Secretary an evaluation of its progress raising immunization coverage among high-risk groups. (6) Within 4 years of March 23, 2010, the Secretary must report to Congress on how well the demonstration program worked, with recommendations on whether to keep or expand it. (7) Whatever money is necessary is authorized for fiscal years 2010 through 2014. (n) Vaccination data The Secretary, through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, must expand, improve, and where needed create programs to collect, track, and study vaccination coverage data. This includes figuring out why some people are not vaccinated and finding communities at high risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease.