HR1966-119

What This Bill Does

The Mamas and Babies in Underserved Communities Act creates a new Public Health Service Act grant program for maternal health care in underserved communities. HHS must award grants to public or nonprofit private health care providers serving minority, low-income, or medically underserved communities. Grants support expanded maternal health services, including prenatal care, postnatal care for infants, and postpartum care for mothers; service quality improvement; better outcomes for women and infants; and reduced disparities in access, quality, and outcomes. HHS must prioritize eligible providers that primarily serve the target communities, are led by people who lived, were educated, or currently reside in those communities, and are geographically located there. Grantees must deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate care and spend no more than 10 percent of grant funds on administration. HHS must require coordination with other federally funded maternal-health activities and minimize duplication. The bill authorizes sums necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

Who Benefits and How

Pregnant women in minority, low-income, and medically underserved communities benefit from expanded prenatal, postpartum, and infant postnatal services. Infants in underserved communities benefit from grant-funded postnatal care and improved maternal health outcomes. Community-based nonprofit health providers benefit from priority criteria favoring providers located in and led by people from the communities served. Culturally and linguistically appropriate care programs benefit from a grant condition requiring that model.

Who Bears the Burden and How

HHS must administer grants, set applications, apply priority criteria, and monitor coordination and administrative-cost limits. Grant recipients must cap administrative expenses at 10 percent and coordinate with other federal maternal-health activities. Federal taxpayers fund the sums necessary authorization for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Providers outside minority, low-income, or medically underserved communities may be less competitive under the priority criteria.

Key Provisions

• Creates HHS grants to expand prenatal, infant postnatal, and maternal postpartum care in underserved communities.
• Prioritizes providers that primarily serve, are led by, and are located in minority, low-income, or medically underserved communities.
• Requires culturally and linguistically appropriate services and caps administrative expenses at 10 percent.
• Authorizes sums necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 and requires coordination with other federal maternal-health activities.