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Introduced June 12, 2025 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress June 12, 2025
Requires states to study and report the costs of providing maternity, labor, and delivery services and directs HHS to compile and analyze those studies. It raises minimum Medicaid/CHIP payments for eligible rural, safety‑net, and low‑volume obstetric hospitals (with defined per‑delivery and standby minimums and enhanced FMAP for the increased portion), creates a state “anchor” payment for low‑volume obstetric hospitals, and funds technical assistance and implementation. Expands maternal coverage and workforce supports: mandates continuous, full‑benefit Medicaid and CHIP coverage for pregnancy and 12 months postpartum; authorizes an optional Medicaid maternity health home with planning grants and temporary enhanced matching; requires HHS guidance on doulas and maternal health professionals; enables detail/deployment of Commissioned Corps personnel for urgent maternal health needs and provides recurring funds for Commissioned Corps operations; requires advance public notice and detailed reporting before hospital obstetric unit closures and expands Medicare hospital cost reporting to include labor and delivery data.
The bill strengthens and stabilizes maternity care access—by expanding continuous postpartum coverage, boosting payments to sustain local obstetric services, improving data and surge response—but does so at substantial fiscal cost and with added administrative burdens and operational trade-offs that may strain small hospitals and create oversight or safety risks if not carefully implemented.
Pregnant and postpartum people on Medicaid/CHIP will keep continuous full coverage through pregnancy and for 12 months postpartum, reducing coverage gaps and improving access to care during a critical period.
Low-volume, rural, tribal, and qualifying hospitals will receive higher Medicaid payment rates, annual 'anchor' payments, and enhanced federal matching to help keep labor & delivery services open locally and stabilize hospital finances.
Federal, state, and local policymakers and communities will get better, publicly posted data and community impact analyses on maternity capacity, costs, staffing, transfers, payer mix, and planned closures—improving transparency, accountability, and the ability to target policy responses.
The legislation expands mandatory coverage, increases Medicaid/CHIP payments, and funds Commissioned Corps operations, raising recurring federal and likely state spending obligations that will affect taxpayers and state budgets.
States, hospitals, and providers will face substantial new administrative, reporting, IT, and compliance burdens (cost studies, expanded cost reports, reporting on closures/transfers, enrollment and privacy requirements) that will consume staff time and resources.
Conditions on anchor payments (contractual requirements, training, use-of-funds rules, and potential clawbacks) plus public reporting could create financial/operational risk and reputational harm for small or rural hospitals, possibly accelerating closures despite the intended support.