Sponsors (7)
Requires Medicaid/CHIP coverage without cost‑sharing of FDA‑cleared, AMA‑validated self‑measured blood pressure devices for pregnant and postpartum individuals, one device per 2 years.
Official title: To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act, title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require coverage of self-measured blood pressure monitoring for pregnant and postpartum individuals.
Introduced May 7, 2026 by Nikema Williams · Last progress May 7, 2026
The bill expands no-cost access to validated home blood pressure monitors for pregnant and postpartum people across Medicaid, CHIP, and private plans—improving maternal monitoring and equity—while imposing new costs on taxpayers/insurers and creating implementation and device-access limits.
Pregnant and postpartum individuals on Medicaid, CHIP, and private group/individual plans will receive covered, no-cost access to validated home blood pressure monitors during pregnancy and for 12 months postpartum, expanding access to remote hypertension monitoring and potentially reducing maternal morbidity.
Covered devices must be FDA 510(k)-cleared and listed on the AMA's validated devices list, increasing the likelihood that patients receive accurate, clinically reliable home blood pressure monitors.
Including this coverage in CHIP and Medicaid alternative benefit plans ensures low-income pregnant people and children/youth populations receive the same monitoring access as other beneficiaries, promoting equity in maternal care.
Taxpayers and private insurers will incur additional costs from mandatory coverage with no cost-sharing, which could translate into higher premiums or increased government spending.
State governments may face administrative and budgetary burdens to implement Medicaid/CHIP changes and conform state law, creating short-term costs and complexity for states.
Limiting coverage to one device per two-year period may leave some pregnant or postpartum individuals without a timely replacement or without access to multiple-device needs, reducing the benefit's usefulness for those cases.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires Medicaid and CHIP plans to cover self-measured blood pressure monitoring devices for pregnant and postpartum individuals without cost‑sharing and regardless of a hypertension diagnosis. Coverage is limited to one FDA‑cleared, AMA‑validated patient-operated device per individual in a two-year period and applies during pregnancy and for the 12‑month postpartum period (or while the person remains Medicaid‑eligible). Also requires benchmark and benchmark‑equivalent alternative benefit plans to include this coverage beginning 120 days after enactment, and adds the device benefit to the list of mandatory State plan coverage categories under Medicaid law.