Title: Help for Moms and Babies Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Help for Moms and Babies Act
This bill allows states to receive federal payment under Medicaid for outside services that are provided to pregnant and postpartum women who are substance use disorder patients at institutions for mental diseases.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2922 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2922

To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to help improve access to 
care for pregnant and postpartum women receiving substance use disorder 
 treatment, including for opioid use disorders, in an institution for 
                            mental diseases.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2018

 Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Heller, Mr. Brown, Mr. Carper, and Mr. 
  Whitehouse) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to help improve access to 
care for pregnant and postpartum women receiving substance use disorder 
 treatment, including for opioid use disorders, in an institution for 
                            mental diseases.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help for Moms and Babies Act''.

SEC. 2. MEDICAID COVERAGE PROTECTION FOR PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM WOMEN 
              SEEKING CARE FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER IN AN INSTITUTION 
              FOR MENTAL DISEASES.

    (a) Medicaid State Plan.--Section 1905(a) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new sentence: ``In the case of a woman who is eligible for medical 
assistance on the basis of being pregnant (including through the end of 
the month in which the 60-day period beginning on the last day of her 
pregnancy ends), who is a patient in an institution for mental diseases 
for purposes of receiving treatment for a substance use disorder, and 
who was enrolled for medical assistance under the State plan 
immediately before becoming a patient in an institution for mental 
diseases or who becomes eligible to enroll for such medical assistance 
while such a patient, the exclusion from the definition of `medical 
assistance' set forth in the subdivision (B) following paragraph (29) 
of the first sentence of this subsection shall not be construed as 
prohibiting Federal financial participation for medical assistance for 
items or services that are provided to the woman outside of the 
institution.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date 
        of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Rule for changes requiring state legislation.--In the 
        case of a State plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act 
        which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines 
        requires State legislation (other than legislation 
        appropriating funds) in order for the plan to meet the 
        additional requirements imposed by the amendment made by 
        subsection (a), the State plan shall not be regarded as failing 
        to comply with the requirements of such title solely on the 
        basis of its failure to meet these additional requirements 
        before the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning 
        after the close of the first regular session of the State 
        legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act. For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a 
        State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such 
        session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of the 
        State legislature.
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