Rural MOMS Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services Act or the Rural MOMS Act
This bill expands initiatives to address maternal health in rural areas.
The bill provides funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish rural obstetric networks for improving outcomes in birth and maternal morbidity. Specifically, these networks must (1) connect individuals with care providers, (2) identify successful maternal-care models, (3) facilitate collaboration among rural providers, (4) provide training and guidance, (5) collaborate with academic institutions that have regional expertise, and (6) measure and address inequities in birth outcomes among rural residents.
HRSA also must award five-year demonstration program grants to (1) train physicians, medical residents, and other practitioners to provide maternal and obstetric services in rural communities; and (2) support academic programs that develop or provide training to improve maternal care in rural areas.
Further, the bill adds maternal-health services as part of the telehealth network and telehealth resource-centers grant programs.
The bill also makes a series of changes to the research and reporting requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Government Accountability Office with respect to data on maternal-health outcomes.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 31, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 31, 2019: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced it on July 31, 2019, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 31, 2019, 2598 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2598 days ago, on July 31, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers