The AAMC joined 244 organizations in a Sept. 17 letter to congressional leadership in support of the maternal health provisions included in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s portions of the Build Back Better Act. The committee advanced its titles of the legislation last week as part of a series of markups in the House [refer to Washington Highlights, Sept. 17].
The letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) applauds the Energy and Commerce Committee’s passage of “bold policies” that stand to “ensure that pregnant and postpartum people have access to critical resources, health care coverage, community-based and social supports, and the high quality health care they need in order to thrive.”
The committee passed several policies from the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 (H.R. 959/ S. 346), including programs aimed at reducing maternal morbidity and mortality such as grant funding to address social determinants of health for pregnant and postpartum individuals, investments in the maternal health workforce, and funds for research and surveillance to improve maternal health outcomes [refer to Washington Highlights, Sept. 10]. The committee also passed a provision that would provide 12 months of continuous Medicaid eligibility to postpartum women, building on the existing state-plan option included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) [refer to Washington Highlights, March 12].
The letter notes the provisions included in the legislation would provide a historic investment in maternal health. “We urge Congress to swiftly advance these provisions to enactment,” the letter concludes.