Text of Bill (PDF)

BOSTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Congressman Zach Nunn (IA-03), and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced legislation to improve access to maternity care for low-income women. The Harnessing Effective and Appropriate Long-Term Health for Moms on Medicaid Act (HEALTH for MOM) Act will provide grants to states to assist with coordinated maternity care through maternal health homes for pregnant women on Medicaid.

“My grandmother died during childbirth in the 1950s, and it is shameful that decades later, we continue to have a maternal morbidity crisis that is killing our loved ones and destabilizing our communities,” said Rep. Pressley. “Our bill would help address the maternal morbidity crisis—which is disproportionately impacting Black and low-income folks—by helping vulnerable families access high-quality, culturally congruent maternal care. I’m grateful to our colleagues for their partnership and urge Congress to pass this bill without delay.”

“The maternal health crisis is very real, and we need to act now to save more lives,” said Rep. Nunn. “By incentivizing states to support pregnant women through coordinated and comprehensive care, we’ll make it easier for moms to have the assistance they need and deserve.”

“The United States is facing a maternal mortality crisis that is taking hundreds of lives every year and is only getting worse,” said Rep. Underwood, “I’m proud to work alongside my colleagues Rep. Nunn and Rep. Pressley on this legislation that will work with the Momnibus Act to make it easier for moms to access coordinated and comprehensive maternal healthcare.”

The United States has the worst maternal mortality rate of any high-income country in the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 80% of maternal deaths could be prevented with proper care. Unfortunately, nearly 2 million women live in areas without access to maternity care, also known as maternity care deserts.

Last year, more than 400,000 babies were born in counties with limited or no access to maternity care. Healthcare costs related to pregnancy are often very expensive, creating another barrier to maternity care for many women. On average, pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care costs nearly $19,000 per birth, or $2,854 in out-of-pocket costs for those with health insurance.

Research shows that increased access to and utilization of maternity care can reduce instances of pregnancy-related complications. For example, one visit to a maternal health home has been shown to significantly reduce the chance a pregnant woman goes to an emergency room and significantly reduces the number of inpatient hospital days women will have associated with their pregnancy.

To address these issues, the HEALTH for MOM Act will create grants to assist states in providing coordinated care through a maternal health-home for high-risk pregnant women on Medicaid. These maternal health homes would coordinate maternity care services and programs through the development of a comprehensive, patient-centered care plan.

Text of the bill can be found here.

As a founding member of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, Congresswoman Pressley has been a longtime champion of maternal health and reproductive justice.

• Throughout her time in Congress, Congresswoman Pressley has convened roundtable meetings with maternal health advocates and practitioners in the Massachusetts 7^th Congressional District.
• In May 2024, Rep. Pressley (MA-07) and Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA), in partnership with disability justice and reproductive justice advocates, unveiled a bicameral resolution calling for equitable access to reproductive and sexual healthcare for people with disabilities, and designating a day in May as “Disability Reproductive Equity Day.”
• In May 2024, Rep. Pressley announced the re-introduction of the Mamas First Act, legislation that directly and meaningfully addresses the maternal mortality crisis by expanding Medicaid to include doula and midwifery care. 
• In May 2024, Rep. Pressley marked Mother’s Day with a powerful speech on the House floor in which she called for meaningful policy change to better support mothers and caregivers, including maternal health justice, affordable childcare, universal paid leave, reproductive freedom, home and community-based services, and more.
• In October 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Cory Booker reintroduced the MOMMIES Act to improve maternal health outcomes.
• In June 2023, Rep. Pressley, alongside Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), reintroduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation to help people with disabilities—who face discrimination and extra barriers when seeking care—get better access to reproductive health care and the informed care they need to control their own reproductive lives.
• In May 2023, Congresswoman Pressley and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) introduced a resolution recognizing the role doulas play in providing culturally competent maternal health care, addressing racial inequities, and supporting healthier outcomes for mothers and their babies.
• In December 2022, the House passed Congresswoman Pressley’s amendment to strengthen maternal health care for people who are incarcerated.
• In September 2022, Rep. Pressley hosted HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for a convening on their work to address the Black maternal health crisis and the criminalization of abortion care following the Dobbs decision.
• In November 2021, at a briefing held by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), Congresswoman Pressley delivered testimony on the growing racial disparities in maternal health and the urgent need to combat the Black maternal mortality crisis. Her full testimony at the briefing is available here.
• In May 2021, she introduced the Healthy MOMMIES Act, to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for pregnant people and expand coverage to include culturally competent and community based doula care.
• In March 2020, she first introduced the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act, legislation to improve maternal health care and support for pregnant individuals who are incarcerated, as part of the Momnibus legislative package. 
• In 2019, she introduced The People’s Justice Guarantee ─ a comprehensive framework to transform the American criminal legal system into one that guarantees justice for all.  She also introduced the Healthy MOMMIES Act with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to expand Medicaid coverage for new moms from 60-days postpartum to one year.

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