Sponsors (2)
Official title: To address maternity care shortages and promote optimal maternity outcomes by expanding access to birth centers and exploring more effective payment models for birth center care, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 8, 2025 by Kelly Morrison · Last progress September 8, 2025
The bill offers targeted federal support and state demonstrations to expand access to and quality of freestanding birth center care—likely improving outcomes for some pregnant people—while relying on modest funding, phased implementation, and state/local resources that limit reach and create fiscal and implementation risks.
Medicaid-eligible and other pregnant people—especially in underserved and rural areas—gain expanded access to freestanding birth center services through startup/expansion grants and state Medicaid demonstrations.
Maternal and newborn care quality may improve because the bill supports testing quality measures and requires data collection on clinical outcomes and patient experience.
Freestanding birth centers receive direct financial and technical support—grants for accreditation/licensure, start-up/expansion funding, and federal planning/technical assistance—which lowers some barriers to opening or formalizing services.
The program’s reach is limited—$5 million in authorizations and a small number of demonstration States mean many communities and Medicaid populations will not benefit quickly.
The modest size of federal grants and the demonstration approach may not cover full start-up or operating costs and do not guarantee long-term sustainability, forcing centers or local governments to provide additional funding or risk closure after grants end.
Expanding Medicaid-covered services and funding demonstrations increases federal and state spending pressure and could raise fiscal costs for taxpayers and state budgets.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Establishes HRSA grants for freestanding birth center start‑up/expansion and a Medicaid demonstration to test birth center payment models for Medicaid‑eligible low‑risk pregnant women.
Creates a federal grant program to help freestanding birth centers start up or expand and launches a Medicaid demonstration to test payment models that improve access to freestanding birth center services for low‑risk, Medicaid‑eligible pregnant women. The bill funds annual competitive grants (up to 15 centers per year, $300K–$500K each) for FY2026–FY2030 and directs HHS to publish certification criteria, issue guidance on a prospective payment system for birth centers, award planning grants to States, run a five‑year demonstration with evaluation and reporting requirements, and collect utilization, quality, cost, and patient experience data.