Frederica Wilson

Maximizing Outcomes for Moms through Medicaid Improvement and Enhancement of Services Act or the MOMMIES Act

This bill establishes a series of programs and requirements under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) relating to maternal health.

For example, the bill expands eligibility for coverage under Medicaid and CHIP from 60 days to one year after the last day of pregnancy and requires such coverage to include oral health services.

The bill also establishes a demonstration program in which states receive grants to implement or expand models for maternity care homes that provide services to Medicaid or CHIP beneficiaries.

The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) gaps in coverage under Medicaid and CHIP for pregnant and postpartum women, and (2) the use of telehealth by state Medicaid programs to increase access to maternity care.

Mamas First Act

This bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover services furnished by doulas, midwives, and lactation support providers, including prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services, in a variety of settings.

Community Access, Resources, and Empowerment for Moms Act or the CARE for Moms Act

This bill establishes and expands federal programs to increase access to health care for pregnant and postpartum women, particularly those in underserved communities. It also increases and expands excise taxes on tobacco products.

The bill requires state Medicaid programs and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover women for 12 months postpartum and to cover dental services for pregnant and postpartum women The bill also allows for two years of postpartum coverage for women under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Also, the bill establishes grant programs for

• state-based collaboratives to improve perinatal health care,

• mobile health units for obstetric care in rural and underserved communities,

• the doula workforce, and

• regional centers of excellence to educate health professionals on implicit bias and culturally competent care.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must publish information on Medicaid and CHIP benefits for pregnant and postpartum women and report to Congress on maternal health needs and expenditures.

In addition, hospitals, as a condition of Medicare participation, must notify HHS at least 90 days before closing an obstetric unit.

Additionally, the bill increases existing excise taxes on cigarettes, equalizes tax rates among all other tobacco products, and establishes annual inflation adjustments. It also establishes new excise taxes for other tobacco products deemed as such by the Food and Drug Administration that are not already subject to such federal taxes.

Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and otherwise modifies programs to support state and tribal maternal mortality review committees; enhance surveillance of pregnancy-associated and -related deaths; and otherwise improve, and reduce disparities in, maternal health outcomes.

The bill also requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to annually disseminate best practices for preventing maternal mortality and morbidity to hospitals, professional societies, and perinatal quality collaboratives (i.e., networks of perinatal care providers and public health professionals that work to improve pregnancy outcomes through continuous quality improvement).

More Options to Develop and Enhance Remote Nutrition in WIC Act of 2025 or the MODERN WIC Act of 2025

This bill permanently allows individuals to remotely certify their eligibility for, and receive benefits through, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Specifically, the bill requires that a state agency allow an individual seeking a WIC certification, recertification, or a nutritional risk evaluation to do so by phone or through video teleconference, in addition to the in-person option.

A state agency has 90 days to collect data for a nutritional risk evaluation for a remotely certified individual. Further, a state agency may consider an applicant who meets the income eligibility standards to be temporarily eligible on an interim basis to participate in the program and may certify the individual for immediate participation without waiting for a nutritional risk evaluation.

The bill also allows states to provide benefits on WIC electronic benefit transfer cards through mail or remote issuance instead of requiring participants to pick up or reload benefits in person at a WIC office.

Further, the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress about the use of remote technologies and other digital tools in the WIC program.

Currently, individuals are generally required to be physically present to certify their WIC eligibility and receive benefits, with exceptions. The Food and Nutrition Service has temporarily waived these requirements and allowed remote certification and benefits using authorities that were provided by laws that were enacted to address COVID-19.