[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4482 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4482
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals to
develop discharge plans for pregnant individuals as a condition of
participation under Medicare, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 11, 2026
Ms. Blunt Rochester introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals to
develop discharge plans for pregnant individuals as a condition of
participation under Medicare, 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 ``Women Expansion of Learning and
Labor Safety Act'' or the ``WELLS Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRING HOSPITALS PARTICIPATING IN MEDICARE TO DEVELOP
DISCHARGE PLANS FOR PREGNANT INDIVIDUALS.
Section 1866 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (X), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``, and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(Z) beginning January 1, 2027, in the case of a hospital,
critical access hospital, or rural emergency hospital, to
comply with the requirements described in subsection (l)(1).'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(l) Discharge Plan Requirements for Pregnant Individuals.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1)(Z),
the requirements described in this paragraph are, with respect
to a hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency
hospital, that the hospital--
``(A) provides for the development and
implementation of a discharge plan meeting the
standards under paragraph (2) with respect to any
individual (whether or not eligible for benefits under
this title) admitted to the hospital who--
``(i) is pregnant;
``(ii) is experiencing signs or symptoms
consistent with labor, which may include
contractions; and
``(iii) is expected to be discharged from
the hospital, critical access hospital, or
rural emergency hospital prior to delivery, as
determined based on the documented clinical
judgment of the treating physician or
practitioner at the time that such discharge is
contemplated;
``(B) includes such discharge plan in the
individual's medical record; and
``(C) provides for such discharge plan to be
discussed with the individual (or the individual's
representative) prior to discharge.
``(2) Discharge plan standards.--A discharge plan for an
individual described in paragraph (1)(A) meets the standards
under this paragraph if such plan includes at least the
following information:
``(A) A clinical justification for the discharge.
``(B) An assessment of travel distance and time
between the primary residence of the individual and the
hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency
hospital.
``(C) Verification of reliable transportation
between the primary residence of the individual and the
hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency
hospital.
``(D) Identification of a secondary hospital or
facility at which such individual may obtain labor and
delivery services.
``(E) Confirmation that the plan was reviewed and
approved by a registered professional nurse, social
worker, or other appropriately qualified personnel.
``(F) Confirmation that the individual (or the
individual's representative) has received the
information described in subparagraphs (A) through (D),
that such information was provided in the primary
language of such individual (or representative), and
that such individual (or representative) confirmed
their understanding of such information.
``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed as limiting or otherwise affecting the
discharge planning requirements otherwise applicable to a
hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency hospital
under this title, or any obligation of a health care provider
to furnish emergency services as required under State or
Federal law, including section 1867 of this title (commonly
known as the `Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act').''.
SEC. 3. RURAL MATERNAL AND OBSTETRIC CARE TRAINING DEMONSTRATION
GRANTS.
Section 764 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294s) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections
(e) and (f), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Minimum Performance Milestones.--
``(1) Establishment.--Beginning with the grants awarded
under this section for fiscal year 2027, the Secretary shall
establish minimum performance milestones that grant recipients
must meet during a fiscal year as a condition of remaining
eligible for funding through such a grant for any subsequent
fiscal year.
``(2) Milestones related to percent of staff trained.--The
minimum performance milestones referred to in paragraph (1)
shall include milestones related to the percent of all staff of
the grant recipient that are trained, or that receive refresher
training, with support from a grant under this section.''; and
(3) in subsection (e), as so redesignated--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking
``Report'' and inserting ``Reports'';
(B) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``the report
described in paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``the
reports described in paragraphs (2) and (3)''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Subsequent reports.--Not later than January 1, 2027,
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress, and make publicly available, a report that includes--
``(A) updates to the information described in
subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (2); and
``(B) additional information regarding the grants
under this section, including--
``(i) a list of the entities receiving such
grants;
``(ii) the number and amount of such
grants;
``(iii) whether training supported by such
grants was delivered in-person, virtually,
asynchronously, or through some other format;
and
``(iv) descriptions of the geographical
coverage of such grants, the number of
providers trained under such grants, and
patient-level metrics linked to such training
(such as changes in clinical outcomes, patient
experience, and racial disparities).''.
SEC. 4. MULTI-CENTER IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE INITIATIVE FOR MATERNAL
HEALTH.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
consultation with the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality and the Director of the National Institutes of Health (in
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a multi-
center implementation science initiative for maternal health to
rigorously evaluate different training models for health care
professionals (including in-person, virtual, simulation, and cohort-
based) and the impact of such models on provider behavior, patient
outcomes, and maternal health disparities.
(b) Interagency Maternal Health Dashboard.--As part of the
initiative described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop,
maintain, and make publicly available on the website of the Department
of Health and Human Services an interagency maternal health dashboard,
which shall include maternal health outcome metrics from agencies
within the Department of Health and Human Services.
<all>