In June 2022, the Biden Administration issued its Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis to help address maternal mortality and morbidity rates, reduce maternal-health disparities, and improve the overall pregnancy experience for all individuals across the United States. President Biden’s Blueprint iterates the President’s call to policymakers to extend Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum in all states and to adopt funding provisions within the President’s 2023 budget request to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality rates.

The Blueprint specifically charges specific federal agencies with the following goals:  

• Increase access to, and coverage of, comprehensive high-quality maternal health services, including behavioral health services.
• Ensure people giving birth are heard and are decision-makers in accountable systems of care.
• Advance data collection, standardization, harmonization, transparency, and research.
• Expand and diversify the perinatal workforce.
• Strengthen economic and social supports for people before, during, and after pregnancy.

 The Blueprint lists the following initiatives as methods to improve maternal health experiences and outcomes:

• Extend postpartum healthcare coverage to 12-months postpartum for Medicaid beneficiaries.
• Invest in rural maternal care by increasing funds to the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program, investing in workforce recruitment and training, and equipping rural facilities with more resources.
• Make available a 24-hour maternal mental health hotline that will provide free, confidential support to anyone experiencing maternal mental health challenges.
• Enhance substance-use services by partnering with community programs and those trained in substance-abuse counseling to provide addiction services during prenatal and postnatal phases.
• Continue to implement the No Surprises Act, which protects patients from unexpected medical bills that may occur throughout pregnancy, labor/delivery, and postpartum.
• Equip more maternal health practitioners with training on implicit bias and culturally and linguistically appropriate care.
• Improve maternal health data by partnering with state and local governments, healthcare systems, and researchers to improve access to data that can help maternal health outcomes.
• Diversity the maternal healthcare workforce by hiring, training, and deploying more physicians, nurses, midwives, doulas, and community health workers from diverse communities and backgrounds.
• Improve access to doulas and midwives by working with states and payers to increase coverage of, and access to, their services.
• Expand social services by engaging the Departments of Agriculture, Health & Human Services, and the Housing and Urban Development to help individuals and families secure housing, food, childcare, and income assistance.
• Strengthen workplace protections by promoting accommodations for new parents such as private lactation rooms and adequate break times to pump.

The above initiatives complement the Biden Administration’s ongoing efforts to:

• Permanently extend Medicaid coverage to 12-months postpartum through the 2021 American Rescue Plan.
• Implement a Birthing-Friendly Hospital Designation through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Read Lamaze International’s feedback to the proposed Birthing-Friendly Initiative.
• Ensure each federal agency focuses on maternal health in accordance with their jurisdiction, as discussed during the April 2022 inaugural Meeting of Cabinet Officials on Maternal Health and the December 2021 call to action for federal agencies, businesses, and non-profits to work together to improve U.S. maternal health.

The Biden Administration pledges to continue to identify, develop, and pursue methods to improve U.S. maternal health and childbirth outcomes in the United States. Look for more opportunities to provide feedback to federal initiatives and proposed policies, as well as ways to incorporate access to evidence-based childbirth outcomes into these conversations.

About Molly Giammarco

Molly Giammarco has consulted for professional healthcare associations for 10 eight years. As Lamaze International’s Director for Policy & Government Relations, Molly monitors legislation regulations related to maternal and child health, as well as advises the Lamaze Advocacy + Collaboration Committee.

Published: July 20, 2022

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