Sponsors (45)
Official title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve maternal health data collection processes and quality measures, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 25, 2026 by Sharice Davids · Last progress March 25, 2026
The bill invests federal funds, standardized data, and expanded review scope to more accurately identify and address maternal deaths and disparities—especially for Tribal and minority communities—but does so at increased taxpayer cost and with added administrative, privacy, and implementation challenges that could slow or complicate results.
Pregnant and postpartum people—especially those from racial and ethnic minority groups—will see improved identification and review of pregnancy-related deaths (including suicide, overdose, and other mental-health/substance-use causes up to 1 year postpartum), leading to better-targeted prevention and interventions.
Medicaid beneficiaries, low-income people, and others will gain clearer access to a broader set of recognized perinatal providers (including Medicaid-reimbursable doulas, midwives meeting ICM standards, IBCLCs, community health workers and peer supporters), increasing nonclinical supports and care options during pregnancy and postpartum.
States, Tribes, and review committees will receive sustained federal funding and HHS technical assistance (authorizations for multiple grant programs and study funding) to strengthen review capacity, community engagement, and data systems, improving oversight and potential for coordinated action.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will face increased spending from multiple authorizations (including recurring grants and studies), raising budgetary obligations or the need for offsets.
State, Tribal, and local review committees, providers, and grantees (including small Tribal entities and MSIs) will face added administrative, reporting, and data-collection burdens that could strain limited public-health resources and slow implementation.
Expanded data collection and broader data sharing for reviews (race/ethnicity, language, insurance, and more) raise patient privacy and confidentiality concerns if safeguards are not clearly specified.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes grants, studies, and data reviews to improve maternal mortality/morbidity review diversity, data quality, and research on outcomes for racial and ethnic minority and AI/AN populations.
Creates new grant and research programs, data reviews, and reporting to reduce maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity — with a strong emphasis on increasing community representation (especially among racial and ethnic minority groups and Tribal communities), improving data collection and quality measures, and studying outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native people. It authorizes multi-year funding for community engagement grants, research at minority-serving institutions, and a targeted AI/AN study, and adds review requirements to better capture mental-health- and substance-use-related pregnancy deaths and severe maternal morbidity. Requires HHS (including CMS and AHRQ) to consult widely, review state and tribal practices, and produce recommendations; tasks MACPAC with assessments; and defines key terms for maternal health work. The bill mostly authorizes programs and studies rather than changing benefit eligibility or imposing new penalties.