The new rules address “new standards to help states improve their monitoring of access to care by requiring the establishment of new standards for appointment wait times, use of secret shopper surveys, use of enrollee experience surveys, and requiring states to submit a managed care plan analysis of payments made by plans to providers for specific services, to monitor plans’ network adequacy more closely.”

Today, Congress introduced a resolution declaring May 5-11, 2024  “Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week” - marking the first time Congress has officially recognized Maternal Mental Health Awareness. 

On March 18, the Biden Administration signed a new Executive Order outlining directives to ensure women’s health is integrated into the federal research portfolio and budget. More than 20 new actions and commitments by federal agencies to advance women's health research were included in this announcement. This follows the First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s recent announcement of $100 million in women’s health funding through Sprint for Women’s Health, which “intends to fundamentally change the trajectory of women’s health care research and radically accelerate the next generation of discoveries”.

In an announcement released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded winners in the final phase of the $1.8 million HHS Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge. This nationwide endeavor, spearheaded by the HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), aims to advance equity in postpartum care for Black or African American and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

On January 25th 2024, Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral ‘‘Maintaining our Obligation to Moms who Serve Act’’ or the ‘‘MOMS Act” (H.R.7087). A companion bill in the Senate was introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)(S.3641).

On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled the Secretary's Postpartum Maternal Health Collaborative. This groundbreaking initiative, announced by Secretary Xavier Becerra, aims to address the critical issue of postpartum mortality by fostering collaboration among state leaders, community partners, and federal experts.

On February 8, the Policy Center team submitted the following letter to the Maternal Mental Health Task Force in response to the Task Force’s “Solicitation for Public Comments on Questions from the Task Force on Maternal Mental Health,” which over 50 national and regional organizations signed on to.

In this letter to the Paid Parental Leave Congressional Working Group, we, along with other national mental health organizations, urge the working group to develop legislation that supports mothers during pregnancy and postpartum period allowing for time off during pregnancy as needed to attend medical appointments and a minimum of 8 weeks of paid leave in the postpartum period to heal and care for their infants.

On Jan 25, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson, joined by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL), co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, launched a year-long Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative.

On January 18, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new model to test approaches for addressing behavioral and physical health in a bi-directional way: The Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model which will be piloted in 8 states.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on January 17, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to increasing health data exchange and strengthening access to care, (CMS) finalized the Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F).  The rule sets requirements for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) fee-for-service (FFS) programs, Medicaid managed care plans among other CMS regulated plans. 

In December, the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) announced a new framework for supporting improved maternal healthcare delivery for Medicaid enrollees referred to as the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model. 

Given the Policy Center’s focus on improving maternal mental health (MMH) detection and treatment rates, we believe it’s critical that obstetric care providers (Ob/Gyns, midwives, and family practice doctors) are reimbursed for their time providing maternal mental health care. Currently, most obstetric care providers are not reimbursed for their time as many are when paid through a global maternity care bundled rate. This letter calls on CMS to provide guidance to state Medicaid agencies on the need to address reimbursement starting in pregnancy and through 12 months postpartum. 

In recent years, mental health has emerged as a global public health priority and a matter of fundamental human rights. Many countries are recognizing the need to adopt or reform their mental health-related legislation. However, existing laws often fall short in addressing discrimination and human rights violations, particularly within mental health care settings. In response to this pressing issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have collaborated to develop a comprehensive publication titled “Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation: Guidance and Practice.”

In a move to address the alarming maternal health crisis in the United States, the Biden-Harris Administration has unveiled the 'Birthing-Friendly' designation on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Care Compare online tool. This user-friendly tool aims to empower expectant parents by helping them identify hospitals and health systems committed to providing high-quality maternity care.

In October 2023, the Federal Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the release of millions of dollars of investments into maternal health care. This included announcing the second round of funding for state maternal mental health programs. This funding was made possible through the Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act, which was passed in 2017 (and led by the National Coalition for Maternal Mental Health, a prior project of the Policy Centers). 

On July 25th, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury announced proposed rules to strengthen the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. We have been honored to be a part of shaping these rules with the Department of Labor and The Kennedy Forum over the past several years. This week the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health submitted the following letter in response to the proposed rules.

As part of the Federal government’s efforts to address maternal mental health in America, the Office of Women’s Health has developed an awareness campaign - starting with postpartum depression. The Policy Center is partnering with HHS on further addressing the range of maternal mental health disorders (MMH), detection in pregnancy, and incorporating the universal symbol of MMH, the blue dot, into future materials.

It’s an exciting time for maternal mental health for a number of reasons - and at the Policy Center, we are particularly excited to report that the new Federal Task Force on Maternal Mental Health launched on September 27. 

The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health submitted the following letter in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Proposed Physician Fee Schedule regarding peer support, community health workers, and social determinants of health, gleaning insights from our partners at Mental Health America and the American Association on Health and Disability.

In August 2023, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) published a postpartum toolkit for State Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Agencies titled Increasing Access, Quality, and Equity in Postpartum Care in Medicaid and CHIP. The toolkit addresses postpartum depression; however, we point out opportunities CMS missed, including addressing the role of the obstetric provider.

August 11th, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a proposed rule for employers implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which addresses maternal mental health. The PWFA “prohibits employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health submitted the following letter in response to the proposed rule for employers implementing the PWFA.

The Moms Matter Act (H.R. 3312/S. 1602), first introduced in 2021, was reintroduced this summer as part of the broader Momnibus bill package.

Medicaid utilizes the “Child and Adult Core Sets,” a set of quality measures, to measure the access and quality of care and to improve the quality of healthcare. Mathematica convenes the Child and Adult Core Set Annual Review Workgroup (“Workgroup”) to review and make recommendations for stronger measures. Joy Burkhard, our Executive Director, is a member of the Workgroup. This year’s Workgroup reviewed the 2025 Child and Adult Core Sets.

On July 25th, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury announced proposed rules to strengthen the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. We have been honored to be a part of shaping these rules with the Department of Labor and The Kennedy Forum over the past several years and will be submitting a comment letter with our feedback on the rules soon.  

Our work shaping and reporting on national mental health policy is made possible through a 2020-2023 capacity grant from the Perigee Fund. 

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires private health plans and issuers of health insurance to cover the full range of birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) without cost-sharing. Although the contraceptive requirements in the ACA have expanded access to contraceptive products for millions of Americans, public reporting shows that people are still experiencing barriers to accessing full-range, FDA-approved contraception without cost-sharing.

This week the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) expanded its recommendation to screen adults (including those who are pregnant) for anxiety in addition to depression. Additionally the USPSTF is not recommending universal suicide risk screening at this time.

On June 6th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification for substance use, mental health, and family peer workers. These standards aim to accelerate the universal adoption, recognition, and integration of the peer mental health workforce across all elements of the healthcare system.

In April 2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) released its Draft Strategic Plan for 2023 to 2026 and requested public comments. The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (the “Policy Center”) submitted the following letter in response to each priority area, with a particular focus on integrating behavioral and physical healthcare and strengthening the behavioral health workforce. 

In February 2023, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) requested information from stakeholders on the drivers and potential solutions to healthcare workforce shortages. The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (formerly 2020 Mom) submitted the following letter outlining our recommendations to increase the capacity and diversity of the healthcare workforce.