I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5761 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to the 

Congress on a biennial basis a national plan to reduce the rate of 

maternal mortality. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2018 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. RYAN of 

Ohio, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 

Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, 

Mr. COHEN, Mr. HASTINGS, and Ms. HANABUSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

submit to the Congress on a biennial basis a national 

plan to reduce the rate of maternal mortality. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Maternal Mor5 tality Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Four million American women give birth 

2 each year, and an estimated 700 will die annually 

3 during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum pe4 riod. 

5 (2) The United States ranks 47th for maternal 

6 mortality rate globally, and is one of only eight 

7 countries in which the maternal mortality rate is ris8 ing. It is estimated that, between 2000 and 2014, 

9 the United States maternal mortality rate grew by 

10 26.6 percent. 

11 (3) Common causes of maternal mortality in12 clude obstetric hemorrhage, hypertension and 

13 preeclampsia, sepsis, and substance use disorder and 

14 overdose. 

15 (4) More than half of maternal deaths are likely 

16 preventable. 

17 (5) Additionally, 65,000 American women expe18 rience severe maternal morbidity (SMM) annually, 

19 meaning the physical and psychological conditions 

20 that result from, or are aggravated by, pregnancy 

21 have an adverse effect on the health of a woman. 

22 (6) Racial and ethnic disparities persist across 

23 the Nation, and Black women are three to four 

24 times more likely to die from complications of preg25 nancy or childbirth than White women. 


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1 SEC. 3. PLAN FOR REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY. 

2 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert3 ing after section 229 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 237a) the 

4 following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 229A. PLAN FOR REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of the Ending Maternal Mortality Act 

8 of 2018, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall de9 velop and submit to the Congress a national plan to reduce 

10 the rate of preventable maternal mortality, with the goals 

11 of— 

12 ‘‘(1) cutting the rate in half over the 10 years 

13 following such date of enactment; and 

14 ‘‘(2) eliminating preventable maternal deaths by 

15 the date that is 20 years after such date of enact16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES; STRATEGY.—In each biennial plan 

18 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall include— 

19 ‘‘(1) a list of objectives for meeting the goals 

20 described in subsection (a); and 

21 ‘‘(2) a strategy for implementing the plan 

22 across the agencies and offices of the Department of 

23 Health and Human Services. 

24 ‘‘(c) SPECIFIC ISSUES.—In each biennial plan under 

25 subsection (a), the Secretary shall address the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Increasing public understanding of mater2 nal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, includ3 ing risk factors, warning signs, and prevention of 

4 common causes like hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and 

5 substance use disorders and other mental health 

6 conditions. 

7 ‘‘(2) Improving understanding of the root 

8 causes of maternal mortality and severe maternal 

9 morbidity, including both medical and socioeconomic 

10 factors. 

11 ‘‘(3) Improving data collection, including State12 level reporting. 

13 ‘‘(4) Identifying at-risk populations and elimi14 nating disparities that persist based on a mother’s 

15 race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic 

16 location. 

17 ‘‘(5) Supporting and expanding maternal mor18 tality review committees that bring together public 

19 and private relevant stakeholders to review cases of 

20 pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated com21 plications and deaths to make recommendations to 

22 improve the quality of care and outcomes. 

23 ‘‘(6) Assessing hospital culture of safety in ma24 ternity care and how best to provide resources to im25 prove outcomes. 


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1 ‘‘(7) Improving health and treatment services 

2 for expectant mothers struggling with substance use 

3 and mental health disorders. 

4 ‘‘(8) Studying and supporting local and tar5 geted responses to maternal death. 

6 ‘‘(9) Identifying Federal programs and activi7 ties to reduce maternal mortality and making rec8 ommendations for improving the effectiveness and 

9 coordination of such programs and activities. 

10 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC POSTING.—The Secretary shall make 

11 each plan submitted to the Congress under this section 

12 publicly accessible on the website of the Department of 

13 Health and Human Services. 

14 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—In developing each biennial 

15 plan under this section, the Secretary shall solicit input 

16 from organizations representing patients, health care pro17 viders, hospitals, other treatment facilities, public health 

18 departments and practitioners, and other entities, as ap19 propriate. 

20 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The term ‘maternal mortality’ refers to 

22 maternal deaths that occur during, or within the 12 

23 months following, pregnancy. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘maternal morbidity’ refers to 

2 pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated com3 plications that do not result in maternal death. 

4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘severe maternal morbidity’ in5 cludes unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery 

6 that result in significant short- or long-term con7 sequences to a woman’s health.’’. 

Æ 


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