Kaine, Hyde-Smith, Gillibrand, and Hawley Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Eliminate Costs of Childbirth

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act, bipartisan legislation to eliminate the out-of-pocket costs associated with childbirth. Specifically, the legislation would prevent cost-sharing for prenatal, childbirth, neonatal, perinatal, and postpartum health care for Americans with private health insurance and ensure pregnancy and childbirth services are covered without copays, coinsurance, or deductibles. While Medicaid generally covers childbirth and other pregnancy-related health care for many Americans at zero-cost, this legislation would provide similar benefits to the majority of Americans who are covered under private insurance.

“In recent years, we’ve made tremendous progress to lower health care costs and expand access to care,” said Kaine. “But we have more work to do—especially as Americans grapple with more and more economic uncertainty. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to reduce costs related to maternal care and childbirth for millions of expectant and new mothers, and will keep doing all that I can to ensure that high-quality care is within reach for mothers and their newborns throughout their lives.”

The average out-of-pocket cost of maternal care and childbirth for mothers with commercial insurance is approximately $3,000, with 1 in 6 mothers paying over $5,000 out-of-pocket. Some families also receive bills and bill amendments months after a hospital stay, creating confusion about what they must pay and challenges figuring out how they will afford these unpredictable expenses. Nearly half of Americans say they cannot afford to pay a $1,000 emergency expense. The Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act would ensure health care is affordable to American moms.

Full text of the Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act is available here.

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