Improving Access to Maternity Care Act

Floor Speech

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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
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.

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