Visionaries for the Future of Maternal Mental Health
2020 Mom is a national organization focused on maternal mental health disorders like postpartum depression.
2020 Mom is committed to advancing federal policies that improve maternal mental health. Through our federal policy development and advocacy efforts, we have made great strides in the past year.
Read MoreOn December 7th, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the first-ever White House Maternal Health Day of Action. The Day of Action included a Summit that was composed of three panels, as well as a Call to Action, outlining steps the federal government will take to improve maternal health outcomes.
Read MoreOver the past two months, several U.S. Senate offices have released requests for information (RFIs), seeking input from stakeholder groups about how to address mental health and addiction issues in the U.S. Specifically, the following Senators requested comments from stakeholders:
Read MoreLast week, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, a $1.75 trillion legislative package that aims to address social welfare. It will be considered by the Senate in the weeks ahead. In addition to critical maternal mental health legislation included in the package, several other provisions that impact moms are currently included in the package as well:
Read MoreOver the weekend, the House of Representatives passed a key procedural vote to set up eventual passage of the Build Back Better Act, a legislative package that includes several social safety net provisions, including provisions from the Moms Matter Act. This is an exciting development as the Moms Matter Act gets closer to the finish line.
Read MoreIt is well documented that pregnancy loss has a negative impact on maternal health, with increased depression and anxiety following a loss (Nynas et al, 2015; Farren et al, 2021; Neugebauer et al, 1997). It is important that mothers and their partners are given time to process and heal after experiencing a miscarriage, stillbirth, or unsuccessful adoption/surrogacy.
Read MoreAccording to a recent report from the United Health Foundation, maternal mortality increased by 16% between 2018 and 2019. Mental health and substance use issues continue to be major drivers of maternal mortality. The same report found that 18.1% of women ages 18-44 reported their mental health was “not good” 14 or more days in the past 30 days — equivalent to roughly 10.2 million women. Additionally, drug-related deaths in women increased by 24% in 2017-2019, compared to 2014-2016.
Read MoreOn October 18, 2021, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), released nine fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) bill. Similar to the House Appropriations Committee, which passed their L-HHS funding bill over the summer, the Senate Appropriations Committee recommends increased funding for several mental health, maternal health, substance use, and other public health programs.
Read MoreLast week, the Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act (H.R.5487) was introduced by Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill aims to prevent stillbirth through better research and reporting on the topic. Specifically, the bill would:
Read MoreIn December 2020, the No Surprises Act was signed into law as part of the fiscal year 2021 appropriations package. This Act aims to protect patients from “surprise” medical bills, which are unexpected bills that individuals may receive after receiving healthcare services. In July 2021, in an effort to start implementing the No Surprises Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor (DoL), Department of the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a regulation to restrict excessive out-of-pocket costs from surprise billing. This rule goes into effect for health care providers and facilities, as well as group health plans, health insurance issuers, and Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program carriers on January 1, 2022.
Read MoreOn September 21, 2021, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Taskforce Recommending Improvements for Unaddressed Mental Perinatal and Postpartum Health (TRIUMPH) for New Moms Act (S. 2779/H.R. 4217) in the U.S. Senate. This bill, if passed, will coordinate federal programs for maternal mental health and create a national strategic plan for addressing maternal mental health disorders.
Read MoreOver the summer, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) released a request for information on areas of women’s health that should be prioritized during the upcoming NIH/ORWH Women's Health Consensus Conference (WHCC), which will be held in October 2021. 2020 Mom submitted comments to the NIH in response to this request for information.
Read MoreSeptember is Suicide Prevention Month, which 2020 Mom is honored to be a part of, and it is also National Recovery Month. National Recovery Month aims to increase awareness and understanding of mental health and substance use disorders, encourage individuals in need of support to seek help, and celebrate those in “recovery.”
Read MoreIn December 2019, as a result of 2020 Mom’s advocacy efforts, the House Committee on Appropriations requested that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) develop a report on the role of HHS in addressing maternal mental health (MMH). HHS released their report earlier this year, summarizing existing programs and resources that exist to serve individuals with MMH disorders. For the purpose of the report, HHS defined MMH disorders as depression, anxiety, and psychosis during pregnancy or one year postpartum.
Read MoreGovernment Accountability Office (GAO) Report on Maternal Mortality and Morbidity among Rural Populations
Earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government oversight and assessment office, released a report titled, Maternal Mortality and Morbidity: Additional Efforts Needed to Assess Program Data for Rural and Underserved Areas.
Read MoreIn 1993 the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed into law, marking the first national unpaid leave policy. The law, which applies to employers with 50 or more employees, stipulates eligible workers can take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child; to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious medical condition; to recover from a serious health condition themselves; or to take military family leave.
Read MoreOn July 29th, the full House of Representatives passed an appropriations minibus package that included the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) funding bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022 (October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022). The L-HHS bill includes increased funding for several mental health, maternal health, substance use, and other public health programs. The bill passed along party lines with a vote of 219-208.
Read MoreOn July 15th, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee considered and passed its fiscal year (FY) 2022 (October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) funding bill. Building upon the work of the L-HHS Subcommittee on July 12th, the full Committee, which is led by Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and “Ranking Member” Kay Granger (R-TX), recommends increased funding for many mental health, maternal health, substance use, and other public health programs.
Read MoreOn July 12th, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) “marked up” and passed their proposed federal funding bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022, which will begin on October 1, 2021, and end on September 30, 2022.
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