# 119-s-4482: WELLS Act

119-s-4482, WELLS Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE] (D-DE); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4482
- As of: 2026-10-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4482
- Congress: 119
- Title: WELLS Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-11
- Sponsor: Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE] (D-DE)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-10

## Summary

**Requires hospitals to create written discharge plans for pregnant people sent home before delivery.** This bill would make patient-centered discharge planning a Medicare participation requirement for hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals starting January 1, 2027. - Pregnant individuals and families: Each person would get a discharge plan in their medical record and a pre-discharge discussion in their primary language, with confirmation they understand the plan. The plan must include a clinical reason for discharge and a named backup facility for labor and delivery. - Hospitals and rural providers: Medicare-participating hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals would need to develop and keep these plans for any admitted pregnant person expected to be discharged before delivery. Plans must assess travel distance and verify reliable transportation. - Clinical staff: A registered nurse, social worker, or other qualified personnel must review and approve the plan before discharge and ensure required information was provided to the patient.

## Provisions PRIA read

- New hospital discharge plans for pregnant people: benefit, medium. If enacted, hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals that participate in Medicare would need to create a discharge plan for any admitted person who is pregnant, showing signs of labor, and expected to go home before delivery. This requirement would start January 1, 2027.…
- Maternal health research and public dashboard: benefit, low. If enacted, the Department of Health and Human Services would set up a multi-center implementation science program to test and compare different training models for health care professionals. The program would study in-person, virtual, simulation, and cohort-based training and measure effects on pr…
- Stronger rules for rural maternal training grants: benefit, low. If enacted, HHS would change the rural maternal and obstetric care training grant program starting with grants for fiscal year 2027. Grant recipients would need to meet minimum yearly performance milestones to stay eligible for future funding. Milestones must include measures such as the share of s…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4482 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4482)

## Related
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4482 (as of 2026-10-10).