Healthy Moms and Babies Act

The Healthy Moms and Babies Act would make a broad push to strengthen maternal health coverage and care for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, with several interlocking components. It would expand reporting and quality measures related to maternal and perinatal health, require new data on cesarean delivery rates, and create several initiatives aimed at improving care delivery around pregnancy and the postpartum period. Key ideas include (1) mandatory quality reporting by states on maternal health measures, (2) steps to reduce low-risk cesarean births through Medicaid and Medicare hospital reporting and state quality activities, (3) an optional state program that creates “maternity health homes” to coordinate comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum care, (4) guidance and support to improve care coordination and workforce skills, and (5) attention to doulas, community health workers, and social determinants of health as part of improving maternal outcomes. The bill also envisions independent analyses by GAO and MACPAC to study payment structures, racial disparities in cesarean births, and ways to expand access to doulas and CHWs under Medicaid. A number of provisions set out timelines (e.g., health home option beginning April 1, 2028; annual cesarean reporting through 2037; planning grants starting in 2027) and funding mechanisms to support implementation. In short, the bill seeks to improve maternal health outcomes by tightening quality data, encouraging coordinated, patient-centered care for pregnant and postpartum women, expanding the role of nonclinical support (like doulas and community health workers), and strengthening the maternity care workforce.