On Saturday, August 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched its M.O.M.S. Tour (Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers) in Detroit, Michigan. This national tour aims to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly among African American and American Indian/Alaska Native women, in communities with high maternal and morbidity rates. In addition to Detroit, the M.O.M.S Tour plans to visit Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Houston, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2023.
The M.O.M.S. Tour brings together mental health professionals, birth workers, medical professionals, and community members to engage in meaningful discussions on maternal health disparities and explore ways to provide supports and services for women at risk. New moms, pregnant women, and families are encouraged to join the event where they will have access to educational information, essential health-related services such as health care coverage, mental health services, local support services offered by doulas and midwives, vaccinations, nutritious food and more.
Addressing maternal health disparities has been a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration. Recognizing that the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations --especially among Black and American Indian and Alaska Native women who are 2.5-3 times more likely to die during childbirth compared to non-Hispanic Whites – the Biden-Harris Administration produced a Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis - PDF. One of the priority actions called for in the blueprint is ensuring comprehensive, continuous maternal health insurance coverage during pregnancy, and for no less than one year afterwards. Approximately 42% of births are covered by Medicaid, but historically people with Medicaid lost postpartum coverage 60 days after the end of pregnancy. During the Biden-Harris Administration, HHS has for the first time approved extension of Medicaid postpartum benefits to 12 months, and to date 35 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Island which aims to reduce the rate of maternal morbidity and mortality, including significant health disparities for Black women during the postpartum period.
The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 includes $471 million to support ongoing implementation of the blueprint and reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates; expand maternal health initiatives in rural communities; implement implicit bias training for healthcare providers; create pregnancy medical home demonstration projects; and address the highest rates of perinatal health disparities, including by supporting the perinatal health workforce. Because maternal mental health conditions are the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, the budget continues to support the maternal mental health hotline as well as screening and treatment for maternal depression and related behavioral disorders. In addition, the budget strengthens collection and evaluation of sociodemographic data.
The FY 2024 also budget includes $1.9 billion for HRSA Maternal and Child Health programs. Within this total, the budget directs $276 million towards reducing maternal mortality and morbidity and $185 million for the Healthy Start program to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.
Finally, the FY 2024 budget provides funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue the Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative to support research focused on interventions to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity and address risk factors that contribute to health disparities in maternal care.
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