Title: Protecting Moms Who Served Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Protecting Moms Who Served Act
This bill authorizes an appropriation to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for FY2022 to improve maternity care coordination for women veterans throughout pregnancy and the one-year postpartum period.
The VA must submit a plan to improve maternity care coordination to fulfill the responsibilities and requirements in the Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1330.03 (or successor handbook).
The bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among women veterans, with a focus on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6141 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6141

 To improve maternity care coordination provided by the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2020

 Ms. Underwood (for herself, Mr. Bilirakis, and Ms. Adams) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve maternity care coordination provided by the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Protecting Moms Who Served Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR MATERNITY CARE COORDINATION.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $15,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2022 to improve maternity care coordination for women 
veterans throughout pregnancy and the one-year postpartum period 
beginning on the last day of the pregnancy. Such amounts are authorized 
in addition to any other amounts authorized for such purpose.
    (b) Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of 
        Representatives a plan to improve maternity care coordination 
        to fulfill the responsibilities and requirements described in 
        the Veterans Health Administration Handbook 1330.03, or any 
        successor handbook.
            (2) Elements.--The plan under paragraph (1) shall include 
        the following:
                    (A) With respect to the amounts authorized to be 
                appropriated by subsection (a), a description of how 
                the Secretary will ensure such amounts are used to--
                            (i) hire full-time maternity care 
                        coordinators;
                            (ii) train maternity care coordinators; and
                            (iii) improve support programs led by 
                        maternity care coordinators.
                    (B) Recommendations for the amount of funding the 
                Secretary determines appropriate to improve maternity 
                care coordination as described in paragraph (1) for 
                each of the five fiscal years following the date of the 
                plan.
            (3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall develop the plan 
        under paragraph (1) in consultation with veterans service 
        organizations, military service organizations, women's health 
        care providers, and community-based organizations representing 
        women from demographic groups disproportionately impacted by 
        poor maternal health outcomes, that the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON VETERAN STATUS REQUIREMENTS.

    It is the sense of Congress that each State should list the veteran 
status of a mother--
            (1) in fetal death records; and
            (2) in maternal mortality review committee reviews of 
        pregnancy-related deaths and pregnancy-associated deaths.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON MATERNAL MORTALITY AND SEVERE MATERNAL MORBIDITY 
              AMONG WOMEN VETERANS.

    (a) GAO Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and 
the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report on 
maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among women veterans, 
with a particular focus on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal 
health outcomes for women veterans.
    (b) Matters Included.--The report under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) To the extent practicable--
                    (A) the number of women veterans who have 
                experienced a pregnancy-related death or pregnancy-
                associated death in the most recent 10 years of 
                available data;
                    (B) the rate of pregnancy-related deaths per 
                100,000 live births for women veterans;
                    (C) the number of cases of severe maternal 
                morbidity among women veterans in the most recent year 
                of available data;
                    (D) the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal 
                mortality and severe maternal morbidity rates among 
                women veterans;
                    (E) identification of the causes of maternal 
                mortality and severe maternal morbidity that are unique 
                to women who have served in the military, including 
                post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, 
                and infertility or miscarriages that may be caused by 
                such service;
                    (F) identification of the causes of maternal 
                mortality and severe maternal morbidity that are unique 
                to women veterans of color; and
                    (G) identification of any correlations between the 
                former rank of women veterans and their maternal health 
                outcomes.
            (2) An assessment of the barriers to determining the 
        information required under paragraph (1) and recommendations 
        for improvements in tracking maternal health outcomes among--
                    (A) women veterans who have health care coverage 
                through the Department;
                    (B) women veterans enrolled in the TRICARE program;
                    (C) women veterans with employer-based or private 
                insurance; and
                    (D) women veterans enrolled in the Medicaid 
                program.
            (3) Recommendations for legislative and administrative 
        actions to increase access to mental and behavioral health care 
        for women veterans who screen positively for postpartum mental 
        or behavioral health conditions.
            (4) Recommendations to address homelessness among pregnant 
        and postpartum women veterans.
            (5) Recommendations on how to effectively educate maternity 
        care providers on best practices for providing maternity care 
        services to women veterans that addresses the unique maternal 
        health care needs of veteran populations.
            (6) Recommendations to reduce maternal mortality and severe 
        maternal morbidity among women veterans and to address racial 
        and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes for each of 
        the groups described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
        paragraph (2).
            (7) Recommendations to improve coordination of care between 
        the Department and non-Department facilities for pregnant and 
        postpartum women veterans, including recommendations to improve 
        training for the directors of the Veterans Integrated Service 
        Networks, directors of medical facilities of the Department, 
        chiefs of staff of such facilities, maternity care 
        coordinators, and relevant non-Department facilities.
            (8) An assessment of the authority of the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs to access maternal health data collected by 
        the Department of Health and Human Services and, if applicable, 
        recommendations to increase such authority.
            (9) Any other information the Comptroller General 
        determines appropriate with respect to the reduction of 
        maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among women 
        veterans and to address racial and ethnic disparities in 
        maternal health outcomes for women veterans.
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