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Establishes a broad federal effort to improve maternal and perinatal care in Medicaid and CHIP by requiring reports, guidance, data collection, quality measurement, pilots, and grants. It directs HHS/CMS to study and address coverage for remote monitoring devices, support community-based maternal programs, collect social determinants of health (SDOH) data, promote maternity health homes and telehealth demonstrations, require hospital and state reporting on cesarean measures, and create advisory groups and quality collaboratives. The bill combines new technical guidance, state options and requirements, pilot projects with federal planning or startup funds, expanded audits and reporting, and new monitoring and best-practice activities aimed at reducing maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and disparities in outcomes for pregnant and postpartum people on Medicaid/CHIP.
The bill aims to improve maternal health by expanding coordinated Medicaid services, data collection, workforce supports, and telehealth—but delivers many changes through guidance and limited grants, creating meaningful opportunities for better care while imposing costs, administrative burdens, and risks of uneven state adoption and potential unintended effects on providers and vulnerable communities.
Medicaid-enrolled pregnant and postpartum women will gain more continuous, coordinated maternal care (maternity health homes, care coordination, remote monitoring, doula coverage, integrated behavioral health and community supports), improving access to prenatal through 1-year postpartum services.
Federal requirements for standardized measurement and public reporting (maternal/perinatal measures, SDOH, race/ethnicity, NTSV C-section rates, GAO studies) will give states and policymakers better data to identify gaps, target quality improvements, and track disparities over time.
Investment in workforce integration and support services (midwives, doulas, community health workers, peer supports) plus clinician training and quality-improvement collaboratives will expand culturally competent, multidisciplinary maternity care in underserved areas.
States and taxpayers will likely face substantial new costs (expanded coverage options, higher reimbursement for doulas/CHWs, grants, pilots, program administration), pressuring state budgets and increasing federal spending.
Because much guidance and program expansion is optional or depends on state adoption (nonbinding guidance, optional state elections, limited demo waivers), access to new services will vary by state, risking uneven benefits and widening geographic disparities.
The bill imposes significant administrative, reporting, and compliance burdens on states, Medicaid programs, hospitals, clinics, and providers (data collection, audits, mitigation plans, provider-level reporting) that could divert staff time and resources from direct patient care, especially at smaller or rural providers.
Introduced July 15, 2025 by Charles Ernest Grassley · Last progress July 15, 2025