# Plain Language Summary: Infant Protection and Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2023

This bill requires hospitals that receive Medicare payments to set up security systems specifically designed to prevent babies from being abducted or accidentally switched with other infants. The main requirement is that hospitals must have clear identification procedures for all newborns so that if a baby goes missing, it will be immediately obvious. The government will create specific security standards that hospitals need to follow, and these standards will take into account differences between large and small hospitals and how much of their work involves caring for newborns.

Hospitals that participate in Medicare—which is most hospitals in the country—will have 18 months after the law passes to put these security procedures in place. If a hospital fails to implement the required security measures, it can face financial penalties. Larger hospitals (with 100 or more beds) could be fined up to $50,000 for each violation, while smaller hospitals could face fines up to $25,000. The government will work with hospitals, consumer groups, and state agencies to develop practical rules that make sense for different types of facilities.

The bill also makes it a federal crime to intentionally alter or destroy a newborn's identification records with the goal of misidentifying the baby. This could include tampering with footprints, fingerprints, photographs, written descriptions, or identification bracelets. Someone convicted of this crime could face up to ten years in prison and fines up to $250,000 for individuals or $500,000 for organizations. Essentially, this law treats deliberately switching or misidentifying babies as a serious federal offense.

Infant Protection and Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2023

Jackson Lee, Sheila

Infant Protection and Baby Switching Prevention Act of 2023 This bill establishes additional requirements that certain hospitals must meet in order to participate in Medicare. Specifically, as a condition of Medicare participation, hospitals and critical access hospitals that provide neonatal or infant care must have appropriate security procedures to reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction and baby switching. Noncompliant hospitals are subject to specified civil penalties. The bill also establishes criminal penalties for knowingly altering or destroying a newborn's hospital patient records for the purpose of causing the newborn to be misidentified.