Title: Improving Access to Maternity Care Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Improving Access to Maternity Care Act
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to identify maternity care health professional target areas, which are areas within health professional shortage areas that have a shortage of maternity care health professionals, for purposes of assigning maternity care health professionals to those areas.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 783 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 783

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to distribute maternity care 
 health professionals to health professional shortage areas identified 
             as in need of maternity care health services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2017

 Ms. Baldwin (for herself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to distribute maternity care 
 health professionals to health professional shortage areas identified 
             as in need of maternity care health services.

    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 ``Improving Access to Maternity Care 
Act''.

SEC. 2. MATERNITY CARE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL TARGET AREAS.

    Section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(k)(1) The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the 
Health Resources and Services Administration, shall identify, based on 
the data collected under paragraph (3), maternity care health 
professional target areas that satisfy the criteria described in 
paragraph (2) for purposes of, in connection with receipt of assistance 
under this title, assigning to such identified areas maternity care 
health professionals who, without application of this subsection, would 
otherwise be eligible for such assistance. The Secretary shall 
distribute maternity care health professionals within health 
professional shortage areas using the maternity care health 
professional target areas so identified.
    ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish 
criteria for maternity care health professional target areas that 
identify geographic areas within health professional shortage areas 
that have a shortage of maternity care health professionals.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary shall collect 
and publish in the Federal Register data comparing the availability and 
need of maternity care health services in health professional shortage 
areas and in areas within such health professional shortage areas.
    ``(4) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek input 
from relevant provider organizations, including medical societies, 
organizations representing medical facilities, and other organizations 
with expertise in maternity care.
    ``(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term `full scope 
maternity care health services' includes during labor care, birthing, 
prenatal care, and postpartum care.
    ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as--
            ``(A) requiring the identification of a maternity care 
        health professional target area in an area not otherwise 
        already designated as a health professional shortage area; or
            ``(B) affecting the types of health professionals, without 
        application of this subsection, otherwise eligible for 
        assistance, including a loan repayment or scholarship, pursuant 
        to the application of this section.''.
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