Murkowski bill would back HRSA rural obstetric program, telehealth

Rural mothers and newborns would gain expanded access to obstetric care and telehealth under a bill U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Tim Kaine introduced Tuesday.

The Mothers and Newborns Success Act would direct federal support to the Health Resources and Services Administration's Rural Maternity and Obstetric Management Strategies Program, known as RMOMS. The program aims to improve access to and continuity of obstetric care in rural communities, including through telehealth.

"Whether you're in Napakiak or New York City, every mother and child deserves access to quality care, and the programs implemented through this bill will help bring us closer to that goal," said Murkowski, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

HRSA's fiscal 2023 RMOMS round offered about $2 million for two awards, up to $1 million per award each year, over four years ending Sept. 29, 2027. Eligible applicants included providers serving rural, frontier or medically underserved areas, along with Indian tribes or tribal organizations.

The bill would also direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to classify birthing facilities by level of risk-appropriate care and to gather pregnancy checkbox data from death certificates. The agency would collect data on patients' experiences before, during and after pregnancy, help states better represent communities of color in key datasets, and run an awareness campaign on maternal warning signs and vaccinations. The bill would also establish a National Maternal Health Research Network at the National Institutes of Health, a HRSA pilot program to share maternal health best practices with providers and patients, and HRSA grants for state plans addressing maternal health disparities.

The senators cited a 2024 U.S. maternal mortality rate of 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with an average of 10.3 across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. They cited an infant mortality rate of 5.52 per 1,000. The rate for Black women was 44.8 per 100,000. A state review of pregnancy-related deaths in Alaska from 2000 to 2011 found 22 per 100,000 live births among Alaska Native women and six among non-Native women.

Kaine called the toll "tragic but overwhelmingly preventable." The sponsors' announcement, which reports only Tuesday's introduction, included no comment from health care providers, tribal health organizations or critics.

Versions of the measure were introduced in 2020 and 2023. The current bill has not passed.