II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 347 

To improve the collection and review of maternal health data to address 

maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and other adverse maternal health outcomes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2021 

Ms. SMITH (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To improve the collection and review of maternal health 

data to address maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and other adverse maternal health outcomes. 

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 ‘‘Data to Save Moms 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) MATERNITY CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

2 ‘‘maternity care provider’’ means a health care pro3 vider who— 

4 (A) is a physician, physician assistant, 

5 midwife who meets at a minimum the inter6 national definition of the midwife and global 

7 standards for midwifery education as estab8 lished by the International Confederation of 

9 Midwives, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse 

10 specialist; and 

11 (B) has a focus on maternal or perinatal 

12 health. 

13 (2) MATERNAL MORTALITY.—The term ‘‘mater14 nal mortality’’ means a death occurring during or 

15 within a one-year period after pregnancy, caused by 

16 pregnancy-related or childbirth complications, in17 cluding a suicide, overdose, or other death resulting 

18 from a mental health or substance use disorder at19 tributed to or aggravated by pregnancy-related or 

20 childbirth complications. 

21 (3) PERINATAL HEALTH WORKER.—The term 

22 ‘‘perinatal health worker’’ means a doula, commu23 nity health worker, peer supporter, breastfeeding 

24 and lactation educator or counselor, nutritionist or 


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1 dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker, home 

2 visitor, language interpreter, or navigator. 

3 (4) POSTPARTUM AND POSTPARTUM PERIOD.— 

4 The terms ‘‘postpartum’’ and ‘‘postpartum period’’ 

5 refer to the 1-year period beginning on the last day 

6 of the pregnancy of an individual. 

7 (5) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.— 

8 The term ‘‘racial and ethnic minority group’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 1707(g)(1) of 

10 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 

11 6(g)(1)). 

12 (6) SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘severe maternal morbidity’’ means a health condi14 tion, including mental health conditions and sub15 stance use disorders, attributed to or aggravated by 

16 pregnancy or childbirth that results in significant 

17 short-term or long-term consequences to the health 

18 of the individual who was pregnant. 

19 (7) SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF MATERNAL

20 HEALTH.—The term ‘‘social determinants of mater21 nal health’’ means non-clinical factors that impact 

22 maternal health outcomes, including— 

23 (A) economic factors, which may include 

24 poverty, employment, food security, support for 


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1 and access to lactation and other infant feeding 

2 options, housing stability, and related factors; 

3 (B) neighborhood factors, which may in4 clude quality of housing, access to transpor5 tation, access to child care, availability of 

6 healthy foods and nutrition counseling, avail7 ability of clean water, air and water quality, 

8 ambient temperatures, neighborhood crime and 

9 violence, access to broadband, and related fac10 tors; 

11 (C) social and community factors, which 

12 may include systemic racism, gender discrimi13 nation or discrimination based on other pro14 tected classes, workplace conditions, incarcer15 ation, and related factors; 

16 (D) household factors, which may include 

17 ability to conduct lead testing and abatement, 

18 car seat installation, indoor air temperatures, 

19 and related factors; 

20 (E) education access and quality factors, 

21 which may include educational attainment, lan22 guage and literacy, and related factors; and 

23 (F) health care access factors, including 

24 health insurance coverage, access to culturally 

25 congruent health care services, providers, and 


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1 non-clinical support, access to home visiting 

2 services, access to wellness and stress manage3 ment programs, health literacy, access to tele4 health and items required to receive telehealth 

5 services, and related factors. 

6 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR MATERNAL MORTALITY REVIEW 

7 COMMITTEES TO PROMOTE REPRESENTA8 TIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 317K(d) of the Public 

10 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(d)) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(9) GRANTS TO PROMOTE REPRESENTATIVE

13 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN MATERNAL MOR14 TALITY REVIEW COMMITTEES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, 

16 using funds made available pursuant to sub17 paragraph (C), provide assistance to an applica18 ble maternal mortality review committee of a 

19 State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

20 urban Indian organization— 

21 ‘‘(i) to select for inclusion in the mem22 bership of such a committee community 

23 members from the State, Indian tribe, trib24 al organization, or urban Indian organiza25 tion by— 


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1 ‘‘(I) prioritizing community mem2 bers who can increase the diversity of 

3 the committee’s membership with re4 spect to race and ethnicity, location, 

5 and professional background, includ6 ing members with non-clinical experi7 ences; and 

8 ‘‘(II) to the extent applicable, 

9 using funds reserved under subsection 

10 (f), to address barriers to maternal 

11 mortality review committee participa12 tion for community members, includ13 ing required training, transportation 

14 barriers, compensation, and other sup15 ports as may be necessary; 

16 ‘‘(ii) to establish initiatives to conduct 

17 outreach and community engagement ef18 forts within communities throughout the 

19 State or Tribe to seek input from commu20 nity members on the work of such mater21 nal mortality review committee, with a par22 ticular focus on outreach to minority 

23 women; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) to release public reports assess25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the pregnancy-related death 

2 and pregnancy-associated death review 

3 processes of the maternal mortality 

4 review committee, with a particular 

5 focus on the maternal mortality re6 view committee’s sensitivity to the 

7 unique circumstances of pregnant and 

8 postpartum individuals from racial 

9 and ethnic minority groups (as such 

10 term is defined in section 1707(g)(1)) 

11 who have suffered pregnancy-related 

12 deaths; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the impact of the use of 

14 funds made available pursuant to sub15 paragraph (C) on increasing the diver16 sity of the maternal mortality review 

17 committee membership and promoting 

18 community engagement efforts 

19 throughout the State or Tribe. 

20 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec21 retary shall provide (either directly through the 

22 Department of Health and Human Services or 

23 by contract) technical assistance to any mater24 nal mortality review committee receiving a 

25 grant under this paragraph on best practices 


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1 for increasing the diversity of the maternal 

2 mortality review committee’s membership and 

3 for conducting effective community engagement 

4 throughout the State or Tribe. 

5 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—In addition to any funds made avail7 able under subsection (f), there are authorized 

8 to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph 

9 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

10 through 2026.’’. 

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 317K(e) of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(e)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking the period 

16 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) the term ‘urban Indian organization’ has 

19 the meaning given such term in section 4 of the In20 dian Health Care Improvement Act.’’. 

21 (c) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Section 317K(f) of 

22 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(f)) is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Of the 

24 amount made available under the preceding sentence for 

25 a fiscal year, not less than $1,500,000 shall be reserved 


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1 for grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or urban 

2 Indian organizations.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW. 

4 Section 317K(d)(3)(A)(i) of the Public Health Serv5 ice Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(d)(3)(A)(i)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subclauses (II) and (III) 

7 as subclauses (V) and (VI), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subclause (I) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(II) to the extent practicable, 

11 reviewing cases of severe maternal 

12 morbidity, according to the most up13 to-date indicators; 

14 ‘‘(III) to the extent practicable, 

15 reviewing deaths during pregnancy or 

16 up to 1 year after the end of a preg17 nancy from suicide, overdose, or other 

18 death from a mental health condition 

19 or substance use disorder attributed 

20 to or aggravated by pregnancy or 

21 childbirth complications; 

22 ‘‘(IV) to the extent practicable, 

23 consulting with local community-based 

24 organizations representing pregnant 

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1 mographic groups disproportionately 

2 impacted by poor maternal health out3 comes to ensure that, in addition to 

4 clinical factors, non-clinical factors 

5 that might have contributed to a preg6 nancy-related death are appropriately 

7 considered;’’. 

8 SEC. 5. REVIEW OF MATERNAL HEALTH DATA COLLECTION 

9 PROCESSES AND QUALITY MEASURES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services, acting through the Administrator for 

12 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serves and the Director 

13 of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, shall 

14 consult with relevant stakeholders— 

15 (1) to review existing maternal health data col16 lection processes and quality measures; and 

17 (2) make recommendations to improve such 

18 processes and measures, including topics described 

19 in subsection (c). 

20 (b) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this section, 

21 the Secretary shall consult with a diverse group of mater22 nal health stakeholders, which may include— 

23 (1) pregnant and postpartum individuals and 

24 their family members, and nonprofit organizations 


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1 representing such individuals, with a particular focus 

2 on patients from racial and ethnic minority groups; 

3 (2) community-based organizations that provide 

4 support for pregnant and postpartum individuals, 

5 with a particular focus on patients from racial and 

6 ethnic minority groups; 

7 (3) membership organizations for maternity 

8 care providers; 

9 (4) organizations representing perinatal health 

10 workers; 

11 (5) organizations that focus on maternal mental 

12 or behavioral health; 

13 (6) organizations that focus on intimate partner 

14 violence; 

15 (7) institutions of higher education, with a par16 ticular focus on minority-serving institutions; 

17 (8) licensed and accredited hospitals, birth cen18 ters, midwifery practices, or other medical practices 

19 that provide maternal health care services to preg20 nant and postpartum patients; 

21 (9) relevant State and local public agencies, in22 cluding State maternal mortality review committees; 

23 and 


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1 (10) the National Quality Forum, or such other 

2 standard-setting organizations specified by the Sec3 retary. 

4 (c) TOPICS.—The review of maternal health data col5 lection processes and recommendations to improve such 

6 processes and measures required under subsection (a) 

7 shall assess all available relevant information, including 

8 information from State-level sources, and shall consider at 

9 least the following: 

10 (1) Current State and Tribal practices for ma11 ternal health, maternal mortality, and severe mater12 nal morbidity data collection and dissemination, in13 cluding consideration of— 

14 (A) the timeliness of processes for amend15 ing a death certificate when new information 

16 pertaining to the death becomes available to re17 flect whether the death was a pregnancy-related 

18 death; 

19 (B) relevant data collected with electronic 

20 health records, including data on race, eth21 nicity, socioeconomic status, insurance type, 

22 and other relevant demographic information; 

23 (C) maternal health data collected and 

24 publicly reported by hospitals, health systems, 

25 midwifery practices, and birth centers; 


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1 (D) the barriers preventing States from 

2 correlating maternal outcome data with race 

3 and ethnicity data; 

4 (E) processes for determining the cause of 

5 a pregnancy-associated death in States that do 

6 not have a maternal mortality review com7 mittee; 

8 (F) whether maternal mortality review 

9 committees include multidisciplinary and di10 verse membership (as described in section 

11 317K(d)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(d)(1)(A)); 

13 (G) whether members of maternal mor14 tality review committees participate in trainings 

15 on bias, racism, or discrimination, and the qual16 ity of such trainings; 

17 (H) the extent to which States have imple18 mented systematic processes of listening to the 

19 stories of pregnant and postpartum individuals 

20 and their family members, with a particular 

21 focus on pregnant and postpartum individuals 

22 from racial and ethnic minority groups (as such 

23 term is defined in section 1707(g)(1) of the 

24 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 

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1 derstand the causes of, and inform potential so2 lutions to, the maternal mortality and severe 

3 maternal morbidity crisis within their respective 

4 States; 

5 (I) the extent to which maternal mortality 

6 review committees are considering social deter7 minants of maternal health when examining the 

8 causes of pregnancy-associated and pregnancy9 related deaths; 

10 (J) the extent to which maternal mortality 

11 review committees are making actionable rec12 ommendations based on their reviews of adverse 

13 maternal health outcomes and the extent to 

14 which such recommendations are being imple15 mented by appropriate stakeholders; 

16 (K) the legal and administrative barriers 

17 preventing the collection, collation, and dissemi18 nation of State maternity care data; 

19 (L) the effectiveness of data collection and 

20 reporting processes in separating pregnancy-as21 sociated deaths from pregnancy-related deaths; 

22 (M) the current Federal, State, local, and 

23 Tribal funding support for the activities re24 ferred to in subparagraphs (A) through (L). 


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1 (2) Whether the funding support referred to in 

2 paragraph (1)(M) is adequate for States to carry out 

3 optimal data collection and dissemination processes 

4 with respect to maternal health, maternal mortality, 

5 and severe maternal morbidity. 

6 (3) Current quality measures for maternity 

7 care, including prenatal measures, labor and delivery 

8 measures, and postpartum measures, including top9 ics such as— 

10 (A) effective quality measures for mater11 nity care used by hospitals, health systems, 

12 midwifery practices, birth centers, health plans, 

13 and other relevant entities; 

14 (B) the sufficiency of current outcome 

15 measures used to evaluate maternity care for 

16 driving improved care, experiences, and out17 comes in maternity care payment and delivery 

18 system models; 

19 (C) maternal health quality measures that 

20 other countries effectively use; 

21 (D) validated measures that have been 

22 used for research purposes that could be tested, 

23 refined, and submitted for national endorse24 ment; 


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1 (E) barriers preventing maternity care pro2 viders and insurers from implementing quality 

3 measures that are aligned with best practices; 

4 (F) the frequency with which maternity 

5 care quality measures are reviewed and revised; 

6 (G) the strengths and weaknesses of the 

7 Prenatal and Postpartum Care measures of the 

8 Health Plan Employer Data and Information 

9 Set measures established by the National Com10 mittee for Quality Assurance; 

11 (H) the strengths and weaknesses of ma12 ternity care quality measures under the Med13 icaid program under title XIX of the Social Se14 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and the 

15 Children’s Health Insurance Program under 

16 title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.), 

17 including the extent to which States voluntarily 

18 report relevant measures; 

19 (I) the extent to which maternity care 

20 quality measures are informed by patient expe21 riences that include measures of patient-re22 ported experience of care; 

23 (J) the current processes for collecting 

24 stratified data on the race and ethnicity of 

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1 pitals, health systems, midwifery practices, and 

2 birth centers, and for incorporating such ra3 cially and ethnically stratified data in maternity 

4 care quality measures; 

5 (K) the extent to which maternity care 

6 quality measures account for the unique experi7 ences of pregnant and postpartum individuals 

8 from racial and ethnic minority groups (as such 

9 term is defined in section 1707(g)(1) of the 

10 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u– 

11 6(g)(1))); and 

12 (L) the extent to which hospitals, health 

13 systems, midwifery practices, and birth centers 

14 are implementing existing maternity care qual15 ity measures. 

16 (4) Recommendations on authorizing additional 

17 funds and providing additional technical assistance 

18 to improve maternal mortality review committees 

19 and State and Tribal maternal health data collection 

20 and reporting processes. 

21 (5) Recommendations for new authorities that 

22 may be granted to maternal mortality review com23 mittees to be able to— 

24 (A) access records from other Federal and 

25 State agencies and departments that may be 


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1 necessary to identify causes of pregnancy-asso2 ciated and pregnancy-related deaths that are 

3 unique to pregnant and postpartum individuals 

4 from specific populations, such as veterans and 

5 individuals who are incarcerated; and 

6 (B) work with relevant experts who are not 

7 members of the maternal mortality review com8 mittee to assist in the review of pregnancy-asso9 ciated deaths of pregnant and postpartum indi10 viduals from specific populations, such as vet11 erans and individuals who are incarcerated. 

12 (6) Recommendations to improve and stand13 ardize current quality measures for maternity care, 

14 with a particular focus on racial and ethnic dispari15 ties in maternal health outcomes. 

16 (7) Recommendations to improve the coordina17 tion by the Department of Health and Human Serv18 ices of the efforts undertaken by the agencies and 

19 organizations within the Department related to ma20 ternal health data and quality measures. 

21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

23 Congress and make publicly available a report on the re24 sults of the review of maternal health data collection proc25 esses and quality measures and recommendations to imVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S347.IS S347

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1 prove such processes and measures required under sub2 section (a). 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) MATERNAL MORTALITY REVIEW COM5 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘maternal mortality review 

6 committee’’ means a maternal mortality review com7 mittee duly authorized by a State and receiving 

8 funding under section 317K(a)(2)(D) of the Public 

9 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(a)(2)(D)). 

10 (2) PREGNANCY-ASSOCIATED DEATH.—The 

11 term ‘‘pregnancy-associated’’, with respect to a 

12 death, means a death of a pregnant or postpartum 

13 individual, by any cause, that occurs during, or with14 in 1 year following, the individual’s pregnancy, re15 gardless of the outcome, duration, or site of the 

16 pregnancy. 

17 (3) PREGNANCY-RELATED DEATH.—The term 

18 ‘‘pregnancy-related’’, with respect to a death, means 

19 a death of a pregnant or postpartum individual that 

20 occurs during, or within 1 year following, the indi21 vidual’s pregnancy, from a pregnancy complication, 

22 a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or the ag23 gravation of an unrelated condition by the physio24 logic effects of pregnancy. 


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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2022 

4 through 2025. 

5 SEC. 6. INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE STUDY AND REPORT ON 

6 MATERNAL MORTALITY AND SEVERE MATER7 NAL MORBIDITY. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

10 the Director of the Indian Health Service. 

11 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

12 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

13 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

14 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

15 (3) MATERNAL MORTALITY REVIEW COM16 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘maternal mortality review 

17 committee’’ means a maternal mortality review com18 mittee duly authorized by a State and receiving 

19 funding under section 317k(a)(2)(D) of the Public 

20 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–12(a)(2)(D)). 

21 (4) TRIBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY CENTER.—The term 

22 ‘‘Tribal epidemiology center’’ means a Tribal epide23 miology center established under section 214 of the 

24 Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 

25 1621m). 


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1 (5) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 

2 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu4 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (6) URBAN INDIAN ORGANIZATION.—The term 

6 ‘‘urban Indian organization’’ has the meaning given 

7 the term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im8 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 

9 (b) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

10 (1) STUDY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di13 rector, in coordination with the individuals se14 lected under subsection (c), shall enter into an 

15 agreement with an independent research organi16 zation or a Tribal epidemiology center to con17 duct a comprehensive study on maternal mor18 tality and severe maternal morbidity in Indian 

19 and Alaska Native populations. 

20 (B) REPORT.—The agreement entered into 

21 under subparagraph (A) shall require that the 

22 independent research organization or Tribal ep23 idemiology center submit to the Director a re24 port describing the results of the study con25 ducted pursuant to that agreement by not later 


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1 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 (2) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study con4 ducted under paragraph (1) shall— 

5 (A) examine the causes of maternal mor6 tality and severe maternal morbidity that are 

7 unique to Indians and Alaska Natives; 

8 (B) include a systematic process of listen9 ing to the stories of pregnant and postpartum 

10 Indians and Alaska Natives to fully understand 

11 the causes of, and inform potential solutions to, 

12 the maternal mortality and severe maternal 

13 morbidity crisis within the Indian and Alaska 

14 Native communities; 

15 (C) identify the different settings in which 

16 pregnant and postpartum Indians and Alaska 

17 Natives receive maternity care, such as— 

18 (i) facilities operated by the Indian 

19 Health Service; 

20 (ii) an Indian health program oper21 ated by an Indian Tribe or tribal organiza22 tion pursuant to a grant from, or contract, 

23 cooperative agreement, or compact with, 

24 the Indian Health Service pursuant to the 

25 Indian Self-Determination and Education 


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1 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

2 and 

3 (iii) an urban Indian health program 

4 operated by an urban Indian organization 

5 pursuant to a grant from or contract with 

6 the Indian Health Service pursuant to title 

7 V of the Indian Health Care Improvement 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.); 

9 (D) determine the different landscapes of 

10 maternity care received by pregnant and 

11 postpartum Indians and Alaska Natives at the 

12 different settings identified under subparagraph 

13 (C); 

14 (E) review processes for coordinating pro15 grams of the Indian Health Service with social 

16 services provided through other programs ad17 ministered by the Secretary of Health and 

18 Human Services (other than the Medicare pro19 gram under title XVIII of the Social Security 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the Medicaid pro21 gram under title XIX of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 1396 et seq.), and the State Children’s Health 

23 Insurance Program established under title XXI 

24 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.)); 


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1 (F) review current data collection and 

2 quality measurement processes and practices 

3 with respect to pregnant and postpartum Indi4 ans and Alaska Natives; 

5 (G) assess causes and frequency of mater6 nal mental health conditions and substance use 

7 disorders with respect to Indians and Alaska 

8 Natives; 

9 (H) consider social determinants of health, 

10 including poverty, lack of health insurance, un11 employment, sexual violence, and environmental 

12 conditions in Tribal areas; 

13 (I) consider the role that historical mis14 treatment of Indian and Alaska Native women 

15 has played in causing currently high rates of 

16 maternal mortality and severe maternal mor17 bidity; 

18 (J) consider how current funding of the 

19 Indian Health Service affects the ability of the 

20 Indian Health Service to deliver quality mater21 nity care; and 

22 (K) consider the extent to which the deliv23 ery of maternity care services is culturally ap24 propriate for pregnant and postpartum Indians 

25 and Alaska Natives. 


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1 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

3 submit to Congress a report describing the results of 

4 the study conducted under paragraph (1), including 

5 recommendations for policies and practices that can 

6 be adopted to improve maternal health outcomes for 

7 pregnant and postpartum Indians and Alaska Na8 tives, including recommendations— 

9 (A) on how to improve maternal health 

10 outcomes for Indians and Alaska Natives re11 ceiving care at the different settings identified 

12 under paragraph (2)(C); 

13 (B) on how to reduce misclassification of 

14 pregnant and postpartum Indians and Alaska 

15 Natives, including consideration of best prac16 tices in training for members of maternal mor17 tality review committees to be able to correctly 

18 classify Indians and Alaska Natives; and 

19 (C) informed by the stories shared by preg20 nant and postpartum Indians and Alaska Na21 tives under paragraph (2)(B) to improve mater22 nal health outcomes for those individuals. 

23 (c) PARTICIPATING INDIVIDUALS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall select 

25 from among individuals nominated by Indian Tribes, 


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1 tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations 

2 12 individuals for participation in the study con3 ducted under subsection (b)(1). 

4 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In selecting members 

5 under paragraph (1), the Director shall ensure that 

6 each of the 12 service areas of the Indian Health 

7 Service is represented. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024. 

11 SEC. 7. GRANTS TO MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS TO 

12 STUDY MATERNAL MORTALITY, SEVERE MA13 TERNAL MORBIDITY, AND OTHER ADVERSE 

14 MATERNAL HEALTH OUTCOMES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

16 Human Services shall establish a program under which 

17 the Secretary shall award grants to research centers, 

18 health professions schools and programs, and other enti19 ties at minority-serving institutions to study specific as20 pects of the maternal health crisis among pregnant and 

21 postpartum individuals from racial and ethnic minority 

22 groups. Such research may— 

23 (1) include the development and implementation 

24 of systematic processes of listening to the stories of 

25 pregnant and postpartum individuals from racial 


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1 and ethnic minority groups, and perinatal health 

2 workers supporting such individuals, to fully under3 stand the causes of, and inform potential solutions 

4 to, the maternal mortality and severe maternal mor5 bidity crisis within their respective communities; 

6 (2) assess the potential causes of relatively low 

7 rates of maternal mortality among Hispanic individ8 uals, including potential racial misclassification and 

9 other data collection and reporting issues that might 

10 be misrepresenting maternal mortality rates among 

11 Hispanic individuals in the United States; and 

12 (3) assess differences in rates of adverse mater13 nal health outcomes among subgroups identifying as 

14 Hispanic. 

15 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

16 under subsection (a), an entity described in such sub17 section shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

18 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa19 tion as the Secretary may require. 

20 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

21 use not more than 10 percent of the funds made available 

22 under subsection (g)— 

23 (1) to conduct outreach to minority-serving in24 stitutions to raise awareness of the availability of 

25 grants under this subsection (a); 


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1 (2) to provide technical assistance in the appli2 cation process for such a grant; and 

3 (3) to promote capacity building as needed to 

4 enable entities described in such subsection to sub5 mit such an application. 

6 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each entity award7 ed a grant under this section shall periodically submit to 

8 the Secretary a report on the status of activities conducted 

9 using the grant. 

10 (e) EVALUATION.—Beginning one year after the date 

11 on which the first grant is awarded under this section, 

12 the Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report 

13 summarizing the findings of research conducted using 

14 funds made available under this section. 

15 (f) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS DEFINED.—In 

16 this section, the term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ has 

17 the meaning given the term in section 371(a) of the High18 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

19 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS