HB2178 would insert a new section 317C-1 into the Public Health Service Act, authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the CDC and in consultation with other federal agencies and partners, to carry out a program of research related to cerebral palsy. The program covers diagnosis and treatment research, factors that may mitigate prevalence, and the health care and societal costs of CP, and includes public health surveillance and education and training for health professionals and the public.
The Secretary may provide technical assistance and must evaluate the activities to determine effectiveness, with an annual funding authorization of $5 million for fiscal years 2026 through 2031.
At a Glance
What It Does
Establishes a Cerebral Palsy Research program under the Public Health Service Act, run by the CDC Director and funded directly or via grants/contracts. The program focuses on diagnosis/treatment, prevalence-reducing factors, costs, surveillance, and related education/training.
Who It Affects
Public health agencies (CDC and state/local health departments), research institutions and nonprofit entities, healthcare providers in pediatrics/rehabilitation, and people with CP and their families.
Why It Matters
Fills knowledge gaps about CP, standardizes data collection, and informs care and policy through targeted research, surveillance, and education.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill creates a dedicated cerebral palsy research program within the Public Health Service Act. It assigns responsibility to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the CDC Director, to oversee research on cerebral palsy.
This includes identifying promising avenues for diagnosis and treatment, studying factors that may lessen how common CP is, and examining the health care and societal costs associated with CP. The program is allowed to run directly or through grants and contracts and must include public health surveillance and educational components for health professionals and the public.
In addition to research, the bill authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to public and nonprofit entities to advance CP research. It also requires formal evaluations to measure how effective these activities are, including their impact on diverse demographic groups.
The act provides an explicit funding authorization of $5 million for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031 to support the program.Overall, the legislation aims to strengthen federal support for CP research, improve early diagnosis and treatment options, quantify costs and outcomes, and build capacity in public health surveillance and professional education related to cerebral palsy.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill establishes Sec. 317C-1 to authorize a Cerebral Palsy Research program under the PHS Act.
The program may be implemented directly by the Secretary or through grants/contracts.
It covers diagnosis/treatment research, prevalence-reducing factors, costs, surveillance, and education.
Authorization of $5,000,000 per year for FY 2026–2031.
It requires evaluations and may include technical assistance to researchers and institutions.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Program scope and priorities
This subsection creates the Cerebral Palsy Research program and directs the Secretary, via the CDC Director, to conduct and support research related to CP. It includes (1) investigation into the most promising CP diagnosis and treatment approaches, (2) study of factors that may mitigate CP prevalence, (3) assessment of CP-related health care and societal costs, along with public health surveillance and educational activities for health professionals and the public.
Technical assistance
The Secretary may provide technical assistance to public and nonprofit private entities to advance CP research. This ensures researchers and institutions have the support needed to implement studies, coordinate activities, and align methods across programs and partners.
Evaluations
The Secretary must arrange evaluations of CP research activities to determine effectiveness and to assess impacts across different demographic groups. Evaluation results should guide program improvements and inform future funding decisions.
Authorization of appropriations
The bill authorizes $5,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031 to support the CP research program, covering direct research activities, surveillance, and related coordination efforts.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Healthcare across all five countries.
Explore Healthcare in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- People living with cerebral palsy and their families, who may gain from improved diagnosis, treatment options, and greater understanding of lifelong impacts.
- Academic medical centers and CP-focused research institutes that receive funding to advance knowledge and best practices.
- Public health agencies (CDC and state/local health departments) that will conduct surveillance and education efforts.
- Disability advocacy organizations that can engage with, and shape, CP research priorities.
- Clinicians specializing in pediatrics, neurology, rehabilitation, and related fields who benefit from clearer evidence on diagnosis and care.
- Policy makers and health systems seeking data to inform resource allocation and program design.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal government will incur annual appropriations totaling $5 million per year (FY 2026–2031).
- CDC and other participating federal agencies incur administrative costs to run the program and oversee grants/contracts.
- Universities, hospitals, and non-profit grantees that receive funding will bear research and reporting costs, grant administration, and compliance requirements.
- State and local health departments will incur surveillance and reporting obligations associated with program activities.
- Healthcare providers tasked with applying new education and training materials may incur time and resource costs to implement practices.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Should federal CP research be supported through a dedicated, tightly scoped program with a fixed annual budget, or should CP research leverage broader NIH/NIH-like programs to ensure scale and avoiding duplication while still targeting CP-specific priorities?
The CP research program creates a focused federal effort to expand knowledge about cerebral palsy, but it relies on a relatively modest funding line ($5 million annually) and places substantial implementation responsibility on the CDC and grantees. A core tension to monitor is whether this funding is sufficient to achieve meaningful advances across diverse CP presentations and life stages, especially given existing CP research undertaken by NIH and other public health programs.
Additionally, linking surveillance and education to ongoing clinical practice raises questions about data privacy, interoperability, and the burden on state and local agencies to coordinate with federal priorities. Finally, there is the question of how the new program will interact with broader CP research initiatives and whether duplication or fragmentation of efforts could occur without careful coordination with NIH and other stakeholders.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.