Luján Reintroduces Bill to Improve Access to Quality, Affordable Maternity Care

Luján’s Legislation Would Combat Infant and Maternal Mortality Across United States

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) announced the reintroduction of the Birth Access Benefiting Improved Essential Facility Services (BABIES) Act, legislation that increases access to quality, affordable maternity care through the creation of a federally funded Birth and Women’s Health Center demonstration program. The BABIES Act would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a Medicaid demonstration program to improve freestanding birth center services for women with low-risk pregnancies. Senator Luján’s reintroduction of the BABIES Act comes on the heels of the reintroduction of his bipartisan MOMS Act, legislation that would address the maternal and infant mortality crisis by increasing the number of trained midwives in the United States. 

Babies born to mothers who receive insufficient prenatal care are at a higher risk for preterm birth, low birthweight, infections, and chronic health problems later in life. A CMS study found that birth centers, which rely on the midwifery model, resulted in lower rates of preterm birth and low birthweight, fewer caesareans, and cost savings of $2,000 per mother-infant pair. The study also demonstrated that birth center care has a larger potential impact on the reduction of preterm birth risk than any other recent medical or public health intervention.

“In communities with limited access to maternal care, birth centers can provide a strong alternative to hospital deliveries for women with low-risk pregnancies,” said Senator Luján. “My BABIES Act would create a model for states to provide patients with additional community-based birthing settings while improving maternal and infant health. As our country faces a crisis of maternal and infant mortality, I’ll continue to work to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s families.”

“We commend Congressional leaders for taking action to expand access to midwifery and birth center care. Midwives and birth centers offer a proven, high-value model for maternity care and are essential in addressing maternity care shortages, particularly in rural and underserved communities,” said Trinisha Williams, MPH, CM, LCCE, CLC, President, American Association of Birth Centers.

Specifically, the BABIES Act would require CMS to:

• Publish criteria for freestanding birth centers to participate in the program, including specified accreditation, licensure, and service requirements;
• Publish guidance for states to establish prospective payment systems under Medicaid for program participants;
• Award planning grants for states to develop program proposals; and
• Award grants for Birthing centers to build new or expand birthing centers to expand capacity.

The bill is supported by the American Association of Birth Centers, American College of Nurse-Midwives, National Association of Certified Professional Midwives, Ancient Song, Inc., Birth Center Equity, Black Mamas Matter Alliance. Centering Healthcare Institute, DONA International, Every Mother Counts, Grow Midwives, LLC, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, International Cesarean Awareness, Network, Just Us Women Productions, LLC, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, Moms Rising, National Black Midwives Alliance, National Partnership for Women & Families, Our Bodies Ourselves, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, Purchaser Business Group on Health, The Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers, AABC Arizona Chapter, AABC California Chapter, Coalition of Texas Birth Centers, Healthy Start, Inc., Mamatoto Village, MN Chapter of AABC, and the New York State Birth Association.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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