WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
has introduced the Healthy Moms and
Babies Act to improve maternal and child health care. The United States has
a maternal health crisis that particularly affects women of color and those
living in rural America. The Healthy Moms
and Babies Act builds on Grassley’s longstanding efforts to improve maternal
and child health by delivering high-quality coordinated care, supporting women
and babies with 21st century technology and taking other steps to reduce
maternal mortality.
“We must do a better job at supporting
pregnant moms and their babies,” Grassley
said. “The Healthy Moms and Babies
Act will enable high-quality coordinated care to our most vulnerable moms.
Through 21st century technology and community-based efforts, we can prevent
maternal mortality and high-risk pregnancies – regardless of a mom’s zip code
or economic background. As a strong supporter of the Maternal, Infant and Early
Childhood Home Visiting Program and stillbirth prevention efforts, I’ll
continue working with my colleagues to help expectant families.”
“Rural America is one of the most
challenging environments for providing prenatal and OB care because people are
so isolated. We’re grateful to Senator Grassley for introducing a bill that
will help address these challenges. Avera has shown a long-standing commitment
to serving women with a goal of healthy moms, healthy babies and healthy
families. Just one example is our use of telehealth to monitor gestational
diabetes in rural locations. We fully recognize that moms need access to high
quality prenatal care and careful management of conditions such as high blood
pressure and gestational diabetes, regardless of their zip code. Telehealth and
coordinated, holistic care are important tools as we strive to help moms who
cannot always afford to travel or take time off work for regular checkups,” said Kimberlee McKay, MD, Clinical Vice
President of Avera’s OB-GYN Service Line. Avera, based in Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, is a health system that covers a mostly rural footprint across
72,000 square miles in the Upper Midwest, with hospitals and clinics throughout
northwest Iowa.
“The
Healthy Moms and Babies Act will make
great strides to expand telehealth access for expecting and postpartum women
all across the country. The maternal mortality rate is a concerning issue in
this country, and the R Street Institute supports Senator Grassley’s innovative
effort utilizing telehealth to address it,” said Anthony Lamorena, Senior Federal Affairs Manager at R Street
Institute.
Background on Healthy Moms and
Babies Act
The Healthy
Moms and Babies Act will improve maternal and child health care by:
- Coordinating and
providing “whole-person” care, supporting outcome-focused and community-based
prevention and support efforts, including stillbirth prevention activities and
expanding the maternal health workforce;
- Modernizing
maternal health care through telehealth to support women of color and women
living in rural America; and
- Reducing maternal
mortality and high-risk pregnancies and improving our understanding of social
determinants of health in pregnant and postpartum women.
Additional information on Grassley’s
Healthy Moms and Babies Act is available below:
Grassley’s Ongoing Work to Improve Maternal and Child Health
Grassley has
previously led legislation to reauthorize the bipartisan Maternal, Infant and
Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) and is working to ensure another
timely reauthorization this year.
In 2019, Iowa received a five-year
HRSA grant to strengthen partnerships and collaboration. This has resulted in
the development of a maternal health task force, improving state-level data
surveillance on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity and promoting
and executing innovation in maternal health service delivery. The work in Iowa
and across other states will help inform best practices. The
Healthy Moms and Babies Act would build
on the successes of this HRSA grant and other Iowa efforts.
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