Clay Unveils Historic Legislative Package to Address America's Black Maternal Health Crisis

Press Release

Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (MO-1) joined today with U.S. Representatives Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Alma Adams (NC-12), Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), and members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus to introduce a historic legislative package to address the United States' urgent maternal health crisis. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2020 will build on existing maternal health legislation by filling gaps through nine new bills to comprehensively address every dimension of the Black maternal health crisis. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus makes investments in social determinants of health, community-based organizations, the growth and diversification of the perinatal workforce, improvements in data collection and quality measures, digital tools like telehealth, and innovative payment models.

"Unfortunately, African-American, Native American and Alaska Native women die of pregnancy related causes three-times more often than white women," said the Congressman. "And just like the rest of the nation, my home state of Missouri has persistently high rates of maternal mortality. Among other improvements, this legislative package increases reporting and evaluation to better help identify and close the gaps in care. Too many women are dying preventable deaths associated with pregnancy. This is the greatest country in the world, and it is time we took maternal health care seriously for all women."

The United States has the worst pregnancy-related death rate in the developed world. Black women experience much higher rates of maternal complications and infant mortality. They are twice as likely to lose an infant to premature death, and these disparities have not improved for more than 30 years. These health disparities are evident across all socio-economic levels and educational levels.

The Black Maternal Health Momnibus is composed of nine individual bills sponsored by members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. The legislation will:

Make critical investments in social determinants of health that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation, and nutrition;

Provide funding to community-based organizations that are working to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly for Black women;

Comprehensively study the unique maternal health risks facing women veterans and invest in VA maternity care coordination;

Grow and diversify the perinatal workforce to ensure that every mom in America receives maternity care and support from people she can trust;

Improve data collection processes and quality measures to better understand the causes of the maternal health crisis in the United States and inform solutions to address it;

Invest in maternal mental health care and substance use disorder treatments;

Improve maternal health care and support for incarcerated womem;

Invest in digital tools like telehealth to improve maternal health outcomes in underserved areas; and

Promote innovative payment models to incentivize high-quality maternity care and continuity of health insurance coverage from pregnancy through labor and delivery and up to 1 year postpartum.