This bill creates the IMPROVE Initiative at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program is meant to fund research and activities to improve maternal health. Its stated goals are to reduce preventable causes of maternal death and severe maternal illness, reduce health disparities in maternal outcomes (especially for groups and regions with higher rates), and improve health before, during, and after pregnancy. The Initiative calls for an integrated approach to study biological, behavioral, and other factors that affect maternal outcomes and to build regional evidence. It also directs NIH to implement and evaluate community-based interventions and to identify risk factors and biological mechanisms tied to leading causes of maternal death and severe maternal illness. The NIH Director may award grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transactions to carry out the work.
If you are a pregnant or postpartum person, a family member, or part of a community with high maternal health risks, this bill aims to support research and community programs that focus on reducing deaths and serious illness. If you are a researcher, health care provider, or community organization, it could create new NIH funding opportunities for studies and community projects on maternal health and disparities. The bill does not itself guarantee money until Congress appropriates funds.
The bill authorizes $73,400,000 for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031 to carry out the Initiative. Authorization of appropriations means Congress permits this amount to be provided, but actual funding depends on future appropriation actions. No publicly available information on exact future spending or budget offsets beyond this authorization.
Proponents say the Initiative will support research and community-based work to prevent maternal deaths and severe maternal illness, address health disparities, and improve care before, during, and after pregnancy. The bill’s text emphasizes targeted research on causes, risk factors, and biological mechanisms and the evaluation of community interventions.
No publicly available information.