---
kind: "section"
citation: "42 U.S.C. § 300ff–37a"
title: "42"
title_heading: "The Public Health and Welfare"
number: "300ff–37a"
heading: "Recommendations for reducing incidence of perinatal transmission"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/42/300ff-37a"
units:
  - "Chapter 6A — Public Health Service"
  - "Subchapter XXIV — Hiv Health Care Services Program"
  - "Part B — Care Grant Program"
  - "Subpart ii — provisions concerning pregnancy and perinatal transmission of hiv"
---

# §300ff–37a. Recommendations for reducing incidence of perinatal transmission

- (a) **Study by Institute of Medicine—**
  - (1) **In general—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c) shall request the Institute of Medicine to enter into an agreement with the [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c) under which such Institute conducts a study to provide the following:
    - (A) For the most recent fiscal year for which the information is available, a determination of the number of newborn infants with HIV born in the United States with respect to whom the attending obstetrician for the birth did not know the HIV status of the mother.
    - (B) A determination for each [State](/usc/42/201.md?p=f) of any barriers, including legal barriers, that prevent or discourage an obstetrician from making it a routine practice to offer pregnant women an HIV test and a routine practice to test newborn infants for HIV/AIDS in circumstances in which the obstetrician does not know the HIV status of the mother of the infant.
    - (C) Recommendations for each [State](/usc/42/201.md?p=f) for reducing the incidence of cases of the perinatal transmission of HIV, including recommendations on removing the barriers identified under [subparagraph (B)](#a-1-B).

    If such Institute declines to conduct the study, the [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c) shall enter into an agreement with another appropriate public or [nonprofit](/usc/42/300s–3.md?p=3) private entity to conduct the study.

  - (2) **Report—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c) shall ensure that, not later than 18 months after the effective date of this section, the study required in [paragraph (1)](#a-1) is completed and a report describing the findings made in the study is submitted to the appropriate committees of the Congress, the [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c), and the chief public health official of each of the [States](/usc/42/201.md?p=f).
- (b) **Progress toward recommendations—** In fiscal year 2004, the [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c) shall collect information from the [States](/usc/42/201.md?p=f) describing the actions taken by the [States](/usc/42/201.md?p=f) toward meeting the recommendations specified for the [States](/usc/42/201.md?p=f) under [subsection (a)(1)(C)](#a-1-C).
- (c) **Submission of reports to Congress—** The [Secretary](/usc/42/201.md?p=c) shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress reports describing the information collected under [subsection (b)](#b).

## Source credit

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XXVI, § 2628, as added Pub. L. 106–345, title II, § 213, Oct. 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 1342; amended Pub. L. 109–415, title VII, §§ 702(3), 703, Dec. 19, 2006, 120 Stat. 2820; Pub. L. 111–87, § 2(a)(1), (3)(A), Oct. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 2885.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

The effective date of this section, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is Oct. 20, 2000. See section 601 of Pub. L. 106–345, set out as an Effective Date of 2000 Amendment note under section 300ff–12 of this title.

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 2628 of act July 1, 1944, was classified to section 300ff–36 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 106–345.

### Amendments

2009—Pub. L. 111–87 repealed Pub. L. 109–415, § 703, and revived the provisions of this section as in effect on Sept. 30, 2009. See 2006 Amendment note and Effective Date of 2009 Amendment; Revival of Section note below.

2006—Pub. L. 109–415, § 703, which directed repeal of this section effective Oct. 1, 2009, was itself repealed by Pub. L. 111–87, § 2(a)(1), effective Sept. 30, 2009.

Subsec. (a)(1)(B). Pub. L. 109–415, § 702(3), substituted “HIV/AIDS” for “HIV disease”.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2009 Amendment; Revival of Section

For provisions that repeal by section 2(a)(1) of Pub. L. 111–87 of section 703 of Pub. L. 109–415 be effective Sept. 30, 2009, and that the provisions of this section as in effect on Sept. 30, 2009, be revived, see section 2(a)(2), (3)(A) of Pub. L. 111–87, set out as a note under section 300ff–11 of this title.