Sponsors (22)
The bill would likely improve maternal-care practices and the accuracy of maternal death data for hospitals and pregnant people, but it introduces funding uncertainty, potential taxpayer costs, and administrative/legal burdens for state and local agencies that could slow or complicate implementation.
Pregnant people and hospitals/clinicians will receive annually updated best-practice guidance to prevent maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity, improving clinical care quality.
State maternal mortality review committees and public health authorities will be able to coordinate with death certifiers to correct and improve cause-of-death information, strengthening surveillance and the accuracy of maternal death data.
Hospitals, states, and federal maternal health programs will have more consistent, aligned best practices across federal programs, which can streamline implementation and reduce conflicting guidance.
Unclear or malformed funding language creates uncertainty about authorized funding levels and could delay or complicate program planning and implementation for hospitals and state programs.
Taxpayers could face increased federal spending and administrative costs if the CDC/HRSA expands activities and guidance under the authorization.
State and local vital records offices may incur legal, procedural, and staffing burdens to coordinate and amend death certificates, creating implementation challenges at the state/local level.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Buddy Carter · Last progress March 6, 2025
Makes targeted changes to the federal maternal mortality statute to improve how maternal deaths are reviewed, to require annual sharing of best practices for preventing maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and to replace prior funding language with a new 2025–2029 funding provision that is unclear in the text. It directs the CDC (in consultation with HRSA) to distribute best practices each fiscal year to hospitals, state professional groups, and perinatal quality collaboratives, and clarifies that maternal mortality review committees should use available information and coordinate with death certifiers to improve death-record accuracy.