BABIES Act

This bill aims to make pregnancy and birth care easier to get, especially in areas with few options. It gives grants to freestanding birth centers to renovate, expand, buy equipment, and get accredited. Each year from 2026 to 2030, up to 15 centers could get $300,000–$500,000. Priority goes to centers serving areas with maternity care shortages or poor outcomes, and to centers that haven’t gotten this grant before . The bill authorizes $5 million in total for these grants over 2026–2030 .

It also tests better ways for Medicaid to pay birth centers. The federal government will set participation rules and payment guidance within a year, then invite states to apply. Up to six states get planning grants within 18 months, must launch within two years, and run four-year pilot programs. The pilots can include payments for prenatal visits, labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn care, with separate payments for mom and baby, plus items like nitrous oxide and hydrotherapy for pain relief. Centers must meet safety, staffing, transfer, and coordination standards (including arrangements with hospitals and clinics). The bill provides $3 million for planning and $24 million for the pilots, and offers enhanced federal matching funds during the first 16 quarters. Annual reports to Congress will track outcomes and costs, including C-section and NICU rates, transfers, and hospital admissions .

• Who is affected: Pregnant people with low-risk pregnancies on Medicaid and their newborns; freestanding birth centers; states that choose to run pilots .
• What changes: Grants to build and equip birth centers; new Medicaid payment models that cover full episodes of care and set standards for safety, staffing, and coordination; possible enhanced federal funding to states during pilots .
• When: Grants run 2026–2030; federal rules within one year; state planning grants within 18 months; pilots start within two years and run four years .