FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2024
Contact: Tyler Jones
Press Office: U.S. Senator George Helmy
Email: Tyler_Jones@helmy.senate.gov
Bill will build on New Jersey’s Maternal and Infant Health Progress due to First Lady Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ Initiative
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator George Helmy (D-NJ) today announced he will co-sponsor the Keeping Obstetrics Local Act (KOLA). KOLA amends titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to enhance financial support for rural and safety net hospitals providing maternity, labor, and delivery services to vulnerable populations.
Specifically, the bill increases Medicaid payment rates for labor and delivery services for eligible rural and high-need urban hospitals, provides “standby” payments to cover the costs of staffing and maintaining an obstetrics unit at low-volume hospitals, creates low-volume payment adjustments for labor and delivery services at hospitals with low birth volumes, and requires all states to provide postpartum coverage for women participating in Medicaid for 12 months. KOLA requires that hospitals use these additional resources to invest in the maternal health care needs of the local communities they serve to address the maternal and infant health crisis the nation is facing.
“Pregnant individuals in rural and underserved communities across the United States are facing alarming mortality rates due to the severe lack of quality and affordable health care services available to them. Recent attacks on reproductive rights in states across the nation have heightened the risk, threatening to raise maternal and infant mortality rates even higher,” said Senator Helmy. “I am proud to co-sponsor KOLA, which will provide expecting mothers the essential access they need to labor and delivery services through Medicaid.”
“I am incredibly impressed by the work that has been accomplished in New Jersey to address the historic inequities in maternal and infant health, and I commend First Lady Tammy Murphy and her team for the work they have done to make our state a national model on how to address this very serious crisis,” continued Senator Helmy. “In my time in office, I am committed to supporting legislation that mirrors New Jersey’s progress and puts us on a trajectory where maternal health disparities are eliminated nationwide.”
“Expecting mothers across the nation, especially those in our Black and Brown communities, are lacking proper access to crucial, affordable health care. This unacceptable barrier to care contributes to the maternal and infant health crisis in the United States,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “In New Jersey, we have been working for seven years on innovative policies that ensure every mother receives equitable and compassionate care. I am hopeful that this bill will allow expecting mothers in rural and underserved communities across our nation to access quality care for a safe and healthy birth.”
Launched in 2019 by First Lady Tammy Murphy, Nurture NJ is a statewide initiative aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality in New Jersey and ensuring equitable care for women and infants across all races and ethnicities. Since its inception, Nurture NJ has seen over 65 pieces of maternal and infant health legislation signed by Governor Murphy. The initiative has also developed and implemented groundbreaking programs and policies, such as the first-of-its-kind in the nation Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority (MIHIA), which is tasked with overseeing the groundbreaking New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center based in Trenton, and will be the arm of government that continues the vital work of Nurture NJ past the Murphy Administration.
Under First Lady Murphy’s leadership over the past six years, Nurture NJ has made significant policy achievements including: developing the Nurture NJ Maternal and Infant Health Strategic Plan – of which over half of its more than 80 recommendations have been started or completed; becoming the second state in the nation to expand Medicaid coverage to 365 days postpartum; establishing Medicaid reimbursement for doula care; increasing all perinatal Medicaid provider reimbursements to 100 percent of Medicare rates; issuing the annual New Jersey Report Card of Hospital Maternity Care; and launching the second and most robust-in-the-nation universal nurse home visiting program, Family Connects NJ, so that every new parent is visited by a nurse in their home for free within two weeks after bringing home a new baby. These innovative programs and policies have positioned New Jersey as a national leader in addressing the maternal and infant health crisis.
The work of Nurture NJ has proven successful in advancing its mission of making New Jersey the safest, most equitable state in the nation to deliver and raise a baby. Ranked 47th in the nation for maternal mortality by America’s Health Ranking when Governor Murphy took office in 2018, New Jersey moved up to 27th in 2023.
“Through Nurture NJ, my office has worked to address the disparities in maternal and infant health by identifying and developing solutions to the crisis we face as a nation. Since 2019, we have made major headway on becoming a national model and gold standard for maternal and infant health care. Working with the Legislature and partners on the ground, we have passed over 65 pieces of legislation including game changers like Medicaid coverage for community doulas before, during and after labor and delivery; establishing the first-of-its-kind Maternal and Infant Health and Innovation Authority; and launching the most robust free universal nurse home visitation program in the nation. I am proud of the work we have been able to accomplish, and we will not stop until New Jersey is the safest, most equitable state in the nation to deliver and raise a baby,” continued the First Lady.
“Access to affordable maternal health care is essential in every individual’s pregnancy journey. Through the many services made available by this administration, including the expansion of Medicaid covered care, mothers and babies are in a safer place than they ever have been in New Jersey,”said Lisa Asare, President and CEO of the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority. “I am hopeful our country is heading in the same direction with the bevy of voices in our nation’s capital, including Senator Helmy and Senator Booker, advocating for mothers and babies. This bill will ensure expecting individuals in some of our nation’s most underserved communities have access to quality birthing services.”
To view the full text of the proposed bill, click here.