Senate sends AHA-supported maternal health bill to president

The Senate yesterday passed and sent to the president for his signature AHA-supported legislation (H.R. 1318) that would provide funding for states to develop maternal mortality review committees to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions. The House passed the bill Dec. 11. Ninety organizations, including the AHA, had urged lawmakers to quickly pass the legislation before Congress adjourns. “The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act will accelerate progress toward ensuring that every state has a high-functioning process for identifying the causes of maternal mortality and translating recommendations made by maternal mortality review committees to meaningful action,” they wrote. “This legislation will also advance efforts among states to standardize the collection and analysis of data so that we can develop a national understanding of why mothers are dying in the United States and what it will take to reverse this tragic trend.”