Perinatal Workforce Act
Maternal Health: Growing and Diversifying the Pregnancy Care Workforce
The Perinatal Workforce Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
Part of: story →Companion bill: Sen. Baldwin Introduces Bill to Diversify Maternal Health Workforce and Expand Midwifery Access →Legislative Progress
This bill has many supporters from one party but lacks the bipartisan backing usually needed to pass through a divided Congress.
Key Points
- This bill creates new grant programs to help more people become midwives, nurses, and other pregnancy health workers. It provides $30 million each year from 2027 to 2031 to help schools start or grow these training programs. The goal is to make sure there are enough professionals to care for moms before and after they give birth.
- The policy focuses on recruiting students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. It offers scholarships to students who agree to work in areas that do not have enough doctors or where health outcomes for moms are poor. This helps ensure that every community has access to high quality care from people who understand their needs.
- Many parts of the country face a shortage of maternal health workers, and minority groups often face higher risks during pregnancy. By training more diverse providers and requiring bias and racism training in schools, the bill aims to make healthcare fairer and safer for everyone.
- Beyond doctors and nurses, the bill supports perinatal health workers like doulas, lactation consultants, and social workers. It also asks the government to study why it is hard for some people to finish their medical education and suggests ways to pay these workers more fairly.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Perinatal Workforce Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(42)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.