The Kira Johnson Act would fund programs and training to reduce preventable maternal deaths and serious childbirth-related health problems and to close gaps in outcomes for groups with higher risk. It directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to give grants to community-based organizations that deliver evidence-based maternal health services. HHS must spend the first year doing outreach and technical help so groups can apply. The bill also creates grant programs for respectful maternity care training for all staff in maternity care settings and requires annual reporting on those grants. It asks HHS to contract with the National Academies to study programs that reduce bias, racism, and discrimination in maternity care and to report results to Congress in about 2 years. The bill would fund grants to hospitals and other birth settings to create respectful maternity care compliance programs that let patients and families report bias or racism, require follow-up, publish strategies to reduce bias, and collect and report data. The Comptroller General must report to Congress about the spread and effects of these compliance programs.
Supporters say the bill targets preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity and seeks to close disparities by funding community-based programs, training all maternity care staff to reduce bias and racism, supporting culturally and linguistically concordant care and midwifery, creating hospital compliance programs, and commissioning studies and reports to guide future work.
No publicly available information.