Sec. 6. Integrated services for pregnant and postpartum women
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Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 330N of such Act, as added by section 2, the following: The Secretary may award grants for the purpose of establishing or operating evidence-based or innovative, evidence-informed programs to deliver integrated health care services to pregnant and postpartum women to optimize the health of women and their infants, including to reduce adverse maternal health outcomes, pregnancy-related deaths, and related health disparities (including such disparities associated with racial and ethnic minority populations), and, as appropriate, by addressing issues researched under subsection (b)(2) of section 317K.
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), a State, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) shall work with relevant stakeholders that coordinate care (including coordinating resources and referrals for health care and social services) to develop and carry out the program, including— State, Tribal, and local agencies responsible for Medicaid, public health, social services, mental health, and substance use disorder treatment and services; health care providers who serve pregnant and postpartum women; and community-based health organizations and health workers, including providers of home visiting services and individuals representing communities with disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and including those representing racial and ethnicity minority populations.
A grant awarded under subsection
(a)shall be made for a period of 5 years. Any supplemental award made to a grantee under subsection
(a)may be made for a period of less than 5 years. In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— give preference to States, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations that have the highest rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity relative to other such States, Indian Tribes, or Tribal organizations, respectively; and shall consider health disparities related to maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, including such disparities associated with racial and ethnic minority populations. In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to applications from up to 15 entities described in subparagraph (B)(i). The Secretary shall require grantees to evaluate the outcomes of the programs supported under the grant. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. . Not later than February 1, 2026, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that describes— the outcomes of the activities supported by the grants awarded under the amendments made by this section on maternal and child health; best practices and models of care used by recipients of grants under such amendments; and obstacles identified by recipients of grants under such amendments, and strategies used by such recipients to deliver care, improve maternal and child health, and reduce health disparities. Not later than August 1, 2026, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall disseminate information on best practices and models of care used by recipients of grants under the amendments made by this section (including best practices and models of care relating to the reduction of health disparities, including such disparities associated with racial and ethnic minority populations, in rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity) to relevant stakeholders, which may include health providers, medical schools, nursing schools, relevant State, Tribal, and local agencies, and the general public.