Sponsors (5)
The bill directs multi-year federal funding to generate research and targeted interventions that could reduce maternal mortality and address disparities over time, but requires ongoing taxpayer investment and may deliver limited near-term relief if funds emphasize research over immediate community programs.
Pregnant and postpartum women will gain more research-backed prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options for maternal complications, improving chances of avoiding severe maternal morbidity and death.
Communities with high maternal health disparities (including racial/ethnic minority and low-income communities) will receive targeted, evaluated community-based interventions aimed at reducing those disparities.
Provides stable federal funding ($63.4M annually for FY2026–2030) for NIH grants and programs to support regional research and implementation projects focused on maternal health.
Taxpayers will fund $63.4M per year through FY2030, increasing federal spending and creating budgetary tradeoffs.
NIH-funded research and programs may take years to produce measurable reductions in maternal mortality, delaying benefits to pregnant and postpartum women.
If grant awards prioritize research over direct community implementation, high-need communities may see limited near-term programmatic support despite expectations for immediate help.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an NIH initiative to fund maternal health research and community interventions and authorizes $63.4M/year for FY2026–2030.
Official title: NIH IMPROVE Act
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Lauren Underwood · Last progress July 21, 2026
Creates a new NIH initiative to fund and coordinate research and community interventions aimed at reducing preventable maternal deaths, severe maternal morbidity, and related health disparities. The measure authorizes the NIH Director to award grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to support research, regional evidence-building, and community-based interventions targeting populations with disproportionately high maternal risk. Provides an authorization of $63,400,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the initiative, and adds the initiative as a new statutory program in the Public Health Service Act. No immediate program details beyond the statutory objectives and funding authorization are specified in the text provided.