Protecting Moms Who Served Act
This bill authorizes an appropriation to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for FY2022 to improve maternity care coordination for women veterans throughout pregnancy and the one-year postpartum period.
The VA must submit a plan to improve maternity care coordination to fulfill the responsibilities and requirements in the Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1330.03 (or successor handbook).
The bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among women veterans, with a focus on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6141 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6141
To improve maternity care coordination provided by the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2020
Ms. Underwood (for herself, Mr. Bilirakis, and Ms. Adams) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve maternity care coordination provided by the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Moms Who Served Act''.
SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR MATERNITY CARE COORDINATION.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $15,000,000 for
fiscal year 2022 to improve maternity care coordination for women
veterans throughout pregnancy and the one-year postpartum period
beginning on the last day of the pregnancy. Such amounts are authorized
in addition to any other amounts authorized for such purpose.
(b) Plan.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of
Representatives a plan to improve maternity care coordination
to fulfill the responsibilities and requirements described in
the Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1330.03, or any
successor handbook.
(2) Elements.--The plan under paragraph (1) shall include
the following:
(A) With respect to the amounts authorized to be
appropriated by subsection (a), a description of how
the Secretary will ensure such amounts are used to--
(i) hire full-time maternity care
coordinators;
(ii) train maternity care coordinators; and
(iii) improve support programs led by
maternity care coordinators.
(B) Recommendations for the amount of funding the
Secretary determines appropriate to improve maternity
care coordination as described in paragraph (1) for
each of the five fiscal years following the date of the
plan.
(3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall develop the plan
under paragraph (1) in consultation with veterans service
organizations, military service organizations, women's health
care providers, and community-based organizations representing
women from demographic groups disproportionately impacted by
poor maternal health outcomes, that the Secretary determines
appropriate.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON VETERAN STATUS REQUIREMENTS.
It is the sense of Congress that each State should list the veteran
status of a mother--
(1) in fetal death records; and
(2) in maternal mortality review committee reviews of
pregnancy-related deaths and pregnancy-associated deaths.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON MATERNAL MORTALITY AND SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY
AMONG WOMEN VETERANS.
(a) GAO Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and
the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report on
maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among women veterans,
with a particular focus on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal
health outcomes for women veterans.
(b) Matters Included.--The report under subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) To the extent practicable--
(A) the number of women veterans who have
experienced a pregnancy-related death or pregnancy-
associated death in the most recent 10 years of
available data;
(B) the rate of pregnancy-related deaths per
100,000 live births for women veterans;
(C) the number of cases of severe maternal
morbidity among women veterans in the most recent year
of available data;
(D) the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal
mortality and severe maternal morbidity rates among
women veterans;
(E) identification of the causes of maternal
mortality and severe maternal morbidity that are unique
to women who have served in the military, including
post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma,
and infertility or miscarriages that may be caused by
such service;
(F) identification of the causes of maternal
mortality and severe maternal morbidity that are unique
to women veterans of color; and
(G) identification of any correlations between the
former rank of women veterans and their maternal health
outcomes.
(2) An assessment of the barriers to determining the
information required under paragraph (1) and recommendations
for improvements in tracking maternal health outcomes among--
(A) women veterans who have health care coverage
through the Department;
(B) women veterans enrolled in the TRICARE program;
(C) women veterans with employer-based or private
insurance; and
(D) women veterans enrolled in the Medicaid
program.
(3) Recommendations for legislative and administrative
actions to increase access to mental and behavioral health care
for women veterans who screen positively for postpartum mental
or behavioral health conditions.
(4) Recommendations to address homelessness among pregnant
and postpartum women veterans.
(5) Recommendations on how to effectively educate maternity
care providers on best practices for providing maternity care
services to women veterans that addresses the unique maternal
health care needs of veteran populations.
(6) Recommendations to reduce maternal mortality and severe
maternal morbidity among women veterans and to address racial
and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes for each of
the groups described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of
paragraph (2).
(7) Recommendations to improve coordination of care between
the Department and non-Department facilities for pregnant and
postpartum women veterans, including recommendations to improve
training for the directors of the Veterans Integrated Service
Networks, directors of medical facilities of the Department,
chiefs of staff of such facilities, maternity care
coordinators, and relevant non-Department facilities.
(8) An assessment of the authority of the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to access maternal health data collected by
the Department of Health and Human Services and, if applicable,
recommendations to increase such authority.
(9) Any other information the Comptroller General
determines appropriate with respect to the reduction of
maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among women
veterans and to address racial and ethnic disparities in
maternal health outcomes for women veterans.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Committee Hearings Held.
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