Midwives Training Grants Act

Summary#

The Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services Act of 2025, also called the Midwives for MOMS Act, would amend the Public Health Service Act. Its stated goal is to address maternity-care shortages and promote better maternity outcomes by expanding midwifery education. The bill was introduced in the Senate and is not law.

  • The HHS Secretary may award grants to higher-education institutions for students, accredited midwifery schools or programs, and qualified preceptors (people who supervise clinical training).
  • Those grants cannot support a midwifery program within a school of nursing.
  • The Secretary may separately award grants to schools of nursing for nurse-midwifery students and programs, and for preceptors at clinical training sites.
  • For both grant programs, the Secretary must give special consideration to institutions meeting the bill’s criteria on preparing students to practice in health professional shortage areas and increasing racial and ethnic minority representation.
  • The bill authorizes a total of $35 million for fiscal years 2025–2029, split between the two grant programs.

What it means for you#

  • Midwifery and nurse-midwifery schools: Eligible institutions could seek grants for student support, starting or expanding accredited programs, and supporting more clinical preceptors. The bill does not require the Secretary to award grants.
  • Students: The bill creates no individual right to funding. It does not guarantee that a student will receive support or be placed in a shortage area.
  • Nursing schools: They could seek grants for nurse-midwifery education. A midwifery program within a school of nursing is excluded from the separate grant program for midwifery schools.
  • Patients and the public: The bill does not directly change midwives’ licensing, insurance coverage, or access to maternity care.
  • Taxpayers: Congress would have to provide the authorized funds through appropriations before they could be spent.

Money#

The bill authorizes $35 million in total for fiscal years 2025–2029, but does not itself appropriate that money.

  • $15 million is authorized for grants to higher-education institutions under the midwifery program; $20 million is authorized for grants to schools of nursing under the nurse-midwifery program.
  • Under each program, 50% of available funds must support students, 25% must support establishing or expanding programs, and 25% must support preceptors.
  • The bill requires no specific number of grants, staff, or awards. No additional cost estimate is provided.

What is unclear#

  • The bill does not set application rules, grant sizes or lengths, selection procedures, reporting requirements, or timelines.
  • It does not define “qualified preceptors” or explain how the Secretary would measure a program’s focus on increasing racial and ethnic minority representation.
  • It is unclear how much funding Congress will appropriate, or when grants would begin.
  • The supplied materials do not include the current Public Health Service Act. I could not verify existing programs or how the bill’s added definitions would interact with current law.

Case for#

  • The bill is designed to address maternity-care shortages by supporting both education and clinical training capacity.
  • Funding students, accredited programs, and preceptors addresses several parts of training, rather than focusing only on school enrollment.
  • Giving special consideration to programs that prioritize students planning to practice in shortage areas could help direct training toward places identified as having shortages.
  • The representation criterion could support efforts to increase racial and ethnic minority representation in midwifery education.

Case against#

  • The Secretary may award grants, so the bill does not ensure that any school, student, or preceptor receives support.
  • The bill does not require that grants produce more graduates or that graduates practice in shortage areas.
  • The selection and oversight rules are not specified, leaving important decisions to the Secretary.
  • The authorization is not an appropriation; without funding from Congress, the grant programs would not have money to distribute.