[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 162 (Monday, November 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6115-H6117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IMPROVING ACCESS TO MATERNITY CARE ACT

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1209) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
the designation of maternity care health professional shortage areas, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1209

       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 ``Improving Access to 
     Maternity Care Act''.

     SEC. 2. MATERNITY CARE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL TARGET AREAS.

       Section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     254e) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(k)(1) The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 
     the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall 
     identify, based on the data collected under paragraph (3), 
     maternity care health professional target areas that satisfy 
     the criteria described in paragraph (2) for purposes of, in 
     connection with receipt of assistance under this title, 
     assigning to such identified areas maternity care health 
     professionals who, without application of this subsection, 
     would otherwise be eligible for such assistance. The 
     Secretary shall distribute maternity care health 
     professionals within health professional shortage areas using 
     the maternity care health professional target areas so 
     identified.
       ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
     establish criteria for maternity care health professional 
     target areas that identify geographic areas within health 
     professional shortage areas that have a shortage of maternity 
     care health professionals.
       ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary shall 
     collect and publish in the Federal Register data comparing 
     the availability and need of maternity care health services 
     in health professional shortage areas and in areas within 
     such health professional shortage areas.
       ``(4) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
     seek input from relevant provider organizations, including 
     medical societies, organizations representing medical 
     facilities, and other organizations with expertise in 
     maternity care.
       ``(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term `full scope 
     maternity care health services' includes during labor care, 
     birthing, prenatal care, and postpartum care.
       ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as--
       ``(A) requiring the identification of a maternity care 
     health professional target area in an area not otherwise 
     already designated as a health professional shortage area; or
       ``(B) affecting the types of health professionals, without 
     application of this subsection, otherwise eligible for 
     assistance, including a loan repayment or scholarship, 
     pursuant to the application of this section.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Burgess) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?

[[Page H6116]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1209, the Improving 
Access to Maternity Care Act, which I introduced with Representative 
Capps.
  H.R. 1209 increases data collection by the Department of Health and 
Human Services to help better place maternity care providers through 
the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. Currently, 
maternity care providers participate in the National Health Service 
Corps through the primary care designation, but they are not always 
placed where they are needed the most. H.R. 1209 will require increased 
data collection on maternity care providers who will then be placed in 
geographic areas within existing health professional shortage areas 
where they are most needed.
  This legislation enjoyed broad support on the Energy and Commerce 
Committee and passed through a full committee markup on a voice vote. 
H.R. 1209 provides no new spending.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1209, the Improving Access to 
Maternity Care Act; and I want to thank Dr. Burgess and my dear 
colleague, Lois Capps from California, for offering this important 
piece of legislation.
  It would require the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
HRSA, to better identify areas with increased need for maternity care 
services. This will help ensure the placement of maternity care 
providers within the National Health Service Corps to areas with the 
most need for their services.
  While global maternal mortality rates have fallen by more than one-
third from 2000 to 2015, the maternal mortality rate in the United 
States has actually increased. In 2015, 25 women lost their lives 
during pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 births in the U.S. compared 
to 23 women who did so in 2000.
  It is clear that we must do more to reverse this troubling trend. 
Congress must make it a priority to ensure all women have access to the 
prenatal and maternity care services needed to prevent maternal 
mortality.
  I support H.R. 1209 because it will help expand access to prenatal 
and maternity care services in the areas where there is the most need. 
I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe), my distinguished colleague.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
1209, the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act, sponsored by my good 
friend from Texas, and fellow OB/GYN physician, Mike Burgess.
  As an obstetrician/gynecologist who spent 31 years practicing 
medicine, I find it unacceptable that there are pockets across the 
United States where women do not have access to needed OB/GYN care. 
There are a huge number of OB/GYNs who are nearing retirement age, and 
more still who are considering early retirement. This is occurring 
while the female population is expected to increase 36 percent by 2050.
  A decrease in available doctors, coupled with an increase in female 
population, will lead to severe shortages that could threaten many 
women's ability to receive timely prenatal, labor and delivery care. 
Every year, 1 million babies are born to mothers who did not receive 
adequate prenatal care. Without proper care, the babies born to these 
mothers are three times more likely to be born low birth weight and 
five times more likely to die than babies whose mothers received care.
  I am a proud cosponsor of this legislation that would require the 
Health Resources and Services Administration to designate maternity 
healthcare professional shortage areas and target maternity care 
resources where they are most needed, helping to ensure healthier 
pregnancies and healthier babies.
  It was my job as an OB/GYN physician to make sure mothers and their 
children were healthy during and after their pregnancy, and I still 
feel very strongly about that duty now that I am here in Congress. 
While this bill will not solve the entire shortage crisis, I think it 
is a meaningful start.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), my colleague and friend, 
who came to Congress the same 106th Congress, I believe, along with me, 
prior to that being a nurse and is now retiring from that seat, but not 
before she adds one more thing at least, maybe there will be more, to 
making our health system better and protecting so many lives.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear colleague, the gentlewoman 
from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1209, the Improving 
Access to Maternity Care Act, which I am proud to have coauthored with 
my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess).
  We know that healthy women make healthy moms, and healthy moms make 
healthy babies. To support these women throughout their lives, they 
need access to preconception, prenatal, postpartum, and interpartum 
care--interpartum being that time between one child and the next, 
should there be another child. But too many communities lack the 
skilled maternity care professionals who are able to provide these 
services, and that is what this bill would address.
  H.R. 1209 would harness the power of the National Health Service 
Corps to better target maternity care to the communities that need this 
care the most. Maternity care professionals are already included in the 
program and doing great work in communities across the country. But at 
present, these providers' placement is based on data related to primary 
care access shortages, without regard to the specific maternity care 
which may be needed.
  So while they are doing important work, there is more that we can, 
and should, do to ensure that they reach the areas that would benefit 
most from high-quality maternity care. Our bill would start this 
process and ensure that the National Health Service Corps takes the 
steps to use data to help more accurately place maternity care 
professionals in the locations that have the greatest need.
  H.R. 1209 would set up a process to identify communities in existing 
health professional shortage areas that most need maternity care. And 
then it would require action to get maternity care professionals into 
these targeted areas.
  We know that the National Health Service Corps is one of our most 
effective programs which improves access to care in underserved areas. 
We just want to make sure that we don't leave any community behind, 
especially when it comes to the health of mothers and their babies.
  I want to again thank my colleague, Dr. Burgess, for partnering with 
me on this legislation. I thank Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Pallone, 
and all of the staff for helping us move this bill forward. And I want 
to thank my deputy chief of staff and health policy advisor, Adriane 
Casalotti, for her years of work on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge full support of this legislation.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
1209, the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act, which amends the 
Public Health Service Act to require the Health Resources and Services 
Administration to designate maternity care health professional shortage 
areas and review these designations at least annually.
  The National Health Service Corps places providers in health 
professional shortage areas; however, there is no shortage area 
designation for maternity care. Across our country, there are major 
pockets of the U.S. where women have little or no access to needed OB/
GYN care. Even in my own district, there are rural communities

[[Page H6117]]

where women live more than 30 minutes away from a hospital or a clinic 
offering prenatal services.
  With almost 1 million babies being born to mothers who did not 
receive adequate prenatal care, we must allow for new opportunities to 
target OB/GYNs to healthcare shortage areas. The National Health 
Service Corps offers tax-free loan repayment assistance to support 
qualified healthcare providers who choose to take their skills where 
they are most needed. Why would we not try to give every woman the 
ability to receive timely prenatal and labor/delivery services?
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman has no more speakers, 
let me just say how pleased I am to be a supporter of this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1209, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend 
the Public Health Service Act to distribute maternity care health 
professionals to health professional shortage areas identified as in 
need of maternity care health services.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________