[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1333 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1333
To address maternal mortality and morbidity.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 2021
Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To address maternal mortality and morbidity.
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 ``Modernizing Obstetric Medicine
Standards Act of 2021'' or the ``MOMS Act''.
SEC. 2. MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY PREVENTION.
Section 317K of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-12)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections
(g) and (h), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Pregnancy and Postpartum Safety and Monitoring Practices and
Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Prevention.--
``(1) Alliance for innovation on maternal health.--The
Secretary, acting through the Associate Administrator of the
Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and
Services Administration, shall establish a program, known as
the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health program, to--
``(A) enter into a contract with an
interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, national
organization promulgating a national data-driven
maternal safety and quality improvement initiative
based on evidence-based best practices to improve
maternal safety and outcomes;
``(B) assist States with the development and
implementation of postpartum safety and monitoring
practices and maternal mortality and morbidity
prevention, based on the best practices developed under
paragraph (2); and
``(C) improve State-specific maternal health
outcomes and reduce variation in response to maternity
and postpartum care, in order to eliminate preventable
maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.
``(2) Best practices.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of the Modernizing Obstetric Medicine
Standards Act of 2021, the Secretary, acting through
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, shall work with the contracting entity
under paragraph (1)(A) to--
``(i) create and assist State-based
collaborative teams in the implementation of
standardized best practices, to be known as
`maternal safety bundles', for the purpose of
maternal mortality and morbidity prevention;
and
``(ii) collect and analyze data related to
process structure and patient outcomes to drive
continuous quality improvement in the
implementation of the maternal safety bundles
by such State-based teams.
``(B) Maternal safety bundles.--The best practices
issued under subparagraph (A) may address the following
topics:
``(i) Obstetric hemorrhage.
``(ii) Maternal mental, behavioral, and
emotional health.
``(iii) Maternal venous and
thromboembolism.
``(iv) Severe hypertension in pregnancy,
including preeclampsia.
``(v) Obstetric care for women with
substance abuse disorder.
``(vi) Postpartum care basics for maternal
safety.
``(vii) Reduction of racial and ethnic
disparities in maternity care.
``(viii) Safe reduction of primary cesarean
birth.
``(ix) Severe maternal morbidity review.
``(x) Support after a severe maternal
morbidity event.
``(xi) Ways to empower and listen to women
before, during, and after childbirth to ensure
better communication between patients and
health care providers.
``(xii) Other leading causes of maternal
mortality and morbidity, including infection or
sepsis and cardiomyopathy.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this
subsection, in addition to amounts appropriated under
subsection (h), there are authorized to be appropriated
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.''.
SEC. 3. MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY PREVENTION GRANTS.
Section 317K of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-12),
as amended by section 2, is further amended--
(1) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Prevention Grant Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall
award grants to States or hospitals to assist in the
development and implementation of the maternal safety bundles
described in subsection (e)(2).
``(2) Use of funds.--
``(A) In general.--A State or hospital receiving a
grant under this subsection may use such funds--
``(i) to purchase equipment and supplies to
effectively implement and execute the maternal
safety bundles described in subsection (e)(2);
and
``(ii) to develop training on, and
evaluation of the effectiveness of, such
maternal safety bundles.
``(B) Priority use of funds for state grantees.--A
State receiving a grant under this subsection shall
allocate such funds giving priority to the hospitals in
such State that serve high volumes of low-income, at-
risk, or rural populations.
``(3) Prioritization of grant applications.--In awarding
grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall prioritize
applications from States, or hospitals within States, that--
``(A) have a functioning maternal mortality review
committee in accordance with best practices promulgated
by the Building U.S. Capacity to Review and Prevent
Maternal Deaths Initiative of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the CDC Foundation, and the
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, or
as described in subsection (d)(1); or
``(B) serve high volumes of low-income, at-risk, or
rural populations.
``(4) Reporting requirements.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after
receipt of a grant under this subsection, each
recipient of such a grant shall submit a report to the
Secretary describing--
``(i) implementation of the maternal safety
bundles with use of the grant funds;
``(ii) any incidents of pregnancy-related
deaths or pregnancy-associated deaths, and any
pregnancy-related complications or pregnancy-
associated complications occurring in the 1-
year period prior to implementation of such
procedures; and
``(iii) any incidents of pregnancy-related
deaths or pregnancy-associated deaths, and any
pregnancy-related complications or pregnancy-
associated complications occurring after
implementation of such procedures.
``(B) Public availability; report to congress.--
Within 1 year of receiving the reports under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
``(i) make the reports submitted under
subparagraph (A) publicly available; and
``(ii) submit a report to Congress that
describes the grants awarded under this
subsection, the effectiveness of the grant
program under this subsection, the activities
for which grant funds were used, and any
recommendations to further prevent maternal
mortality and morbidity.
``(C) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry
out this subsection, in addition to amounts
appropriated under subsection (h), there are authorized
to be appropriated $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2022 through 2026.''; and
(2) in subsection (g), as so redesignated by section 2(1),
by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the following:
``(2) the terms `pregnancy-associated death' and
`pregnancy-associated complication' mean the death or medical
complication, respectively, of a woman that occurs during, or
within 1 year following, her pregnancy, regardless of the
outcome, duration, or site of the pregnancy;
``(3) the terms `pregnancy-related death' and `pregnancy-
related complication' mean the death or medical complication,
respectively, of a woman that--
``(A) occurs during, or within 1 year following,
her pregnancy, regardless of the outcome, duration, or
site of the pregnancy;
``(B) is from any cause related to, or aggravated
by, the pregnancy or its management; and
``(C) is not from an accidental or incidental
cause; and
``(4) the term `severe maternal morbidity' means the
unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in
significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman's
health.''.
SEC. 4. REPORTING ON PREGNANCY-RELATED AND PREGNANCY-ASSOCIATED DEATHS
AND COMPLICATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
encourage each State to voluntarily submit to the Secretary each year a
report containing the findings of a State maternal mortality review
committee with respect to each maternal death in the State that the
committee reviewed during the year.
(b) Maternal and Infant Health.--The Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention shall--
(1) update the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System or
develop a separate system so that such system is capable of
including data obtained from State maternal mortality review
committees; and
(2) provide technical assistance to States in reviewing
cases of pregnancy-related complications and pregnancy-
associated complications.
(c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``pregnancy-associated
complication'' and ``pregnancy-related complication'' have the meanings
given such terms in section 317K of the Public Health Service Act, as
amended by section 3.
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