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 MoreThis month, several articles about stillbirth, employee benefits, and how they are changing in light of COVID and its mental health burden, and the reduction of suicides are among those that I highlight below. Leave a comment below if any of these articles struck a chord with you.
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 MoreThe Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34) was the inception of the child tax credit (CTC), which was created to ease the financial burden to families with children. Over the years, the CTC has expanded from an upper- and middle-class benefit, to a tax benefit that lower-income families can claim. The CTC allows taxpayers to reduce their federal income liability up to $2,000 per child aged 0-16 years of age. In the event the value of the credit exceeds the amount of tax a family owes, the family may be eligible to receive a full or partial refund of the difference.
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 MoreHere are the articles and reports that I took note of in October. Most striking:
New research tying having a mental health disorder in pregnancy to higher hospital costs related to delivery
Diagnostic errors being a leading cause of preventable maternal death
Why the phrase, ‘pregnant women’ may make a come-back
A new national effort is underway to address Mental Health measurement
Hospitals that are acquired by larger systems are cutting maternity care a limiting mental health care
Joy Burkhard’s Opening Remarks
Hello. Thank you to the Alliance, Health Affairs, the funders, and Members of Congress who have taken leadership positions on maternal mental health, recognizing this is a bi-partisan issue that no U.S. woman or family is immune from.
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 MoreHere are the articles that crossed my desk in September. Of note, one mental health revolutionary and his thoughts on how the tsunami of referrals really didn’t come, and that the lessons of the pandemic should be to look after young people, those who lose income and parents. Also of note, is new research pointing to the opportunity for organizations like 2020 Mom, to continue drafting and advocating for state laws requiring universal screening for maternal mental health disorders as a means for reducing underuse of counseling services, particularly women of color. Read on to see all that caught my attention.
Read MoreSuicide prevention is always important, but maternal suicide prevention is especially important to me. Twelve years ago, my sister died by suicide just three weeks after the birth of her first and only child. Like many new mothers, my sister was so excited for her first child.
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 More“When I look back on how far we’ve come and all we’ve accomplished, a lot of phrases come to mind – connecting the dots; planting seeds; shining a light; sharing the stage, blood, sweat, and tears…”