{"id":331733,"date":"2025-05-23T14:46:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T19:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=331733"},"modified":"2025-05-23T08:14:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:14:55","slug":"senator-bipartisan-pregnancy-childbirth-affordable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/senator-bipartisan-pregnancy-childbirth-affordable\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators introduce bipartisan bill to make pregnancy and childbirth affordable"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A bipartisan coalition of Senators has introduced a bill that would ease some of the financial burden associated with pregnancy and childbirth.<\/p>\n

KEY TAKEAWAYS:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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  • The Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act is a bipartisan effort to end cost-sharing fees for pregnancy and postpartum services for individuals with private insurance.<\/li>\n
  • The bill, introduced in the Senate, will “require insurance companies to fully cover care throughout pregnancy and a year postpartum,” in one senator’s words.<\/li>\n
  • The bill does not appear to include anything related to so-called ‘reproductive health care,’ which is often code for abortion.<\/li>\n
  • Senators on both sides of the aisle have expressed enthusiasm for the bill.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    THE DETAILS:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    The Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act<\/a> was introduced 0n May 21 by U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) The legislation would eliminate insurance cost-sharing fees related to pregnancy and postpartum care.<\/p>\n

    The bill would remove all cost-sharing fees for labor, prenatal, neonatal, perinatal, and postpartum care, covering costs of things like ultrasounds, miscarriage care, and comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care, including physical and mental health conditions caused or exacerbated by pregnancy, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and postpartum depression and anxiety. The bill would also cover behavioral health services related to parenting for adopting parents in the child’s first year.<\/p>\n

    The bill does not, at this time, appear to include any services related to “reproductive health care” in reference to abortion or contraception.<\/p>\n