# 119-s-5515: CARE for Moms Act

119-s-5515, CARE for Moms Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5515
- As of: 2026-10-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5515
- Congress: 119
- Title: CARE for Moms Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-24
- Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-18

## Summary

**Expanded postpartum Medicaid coverage** is the central aim of the CARE for Moms Act, paired with targeted funding to improve maternal care and workforce capacity. The bill ties new grants and program authorizations to training, bias reduction, doula expansion, and mobile obstetric services while reforming tobacco excise taxes to fund parts of the proposal. - Pregnant and postpartum people would get continuous full Medicaid and CHIP benefits for 12 months and a separate 305‑day extended postpartum assistance period with enhanced federal matching early on. The law also requires coverage and public notice of oral health, mental health, and breastfeeding services. - Creates grant programs and regional centers to grow the maternal care workforce and improve quality. This includes $50 million for doula workforce programs and $35 million per year (FY2027–FY2031) for state perinatal quality collaboratives, plus regional centers to address implicit bias and cultural competency. - Targets rural and underserved access with a HRSA pilot for mobile obstetric units and requires states to protect patient privacy in grant data. The bill also raises and indexes excise taxes on many tobacco products, for example increasing small cigar rates to about $100.7 per thousand and imposing a floor‑stocks tax on existing inventory.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Longer Medicaid coverage after childbirth: benefit, high. If enacted, State Medicaid plans would have to provide full medical benefits during pregnancy and for 12 months after pregnancy ends. The bill would also require Medicaid to cover dental care during pregnancy and for one year after birth. As part of the change, the federal match for a defined postp…
- Longer WIC support for breastfeeding: benefit, medium. If enacted, breastfeeding women on WIC could be certified for two years after pregnancy instead of one. States could also elect to certify other postpartum women for two years. This would reduce how often eligible participants need to recertify for WIC breastfeeding benefits.
- Mobile maternal health units pilot: benefit, medium. If enacted, HHS would run a five‑year pilot giving States grants to buy and staff mobile health units for preconception, prenatal, postpartum, and obstetric emergency services in rural and underserved areas. Grants could also fund nutrition help, housing referrals, lactation support, and transporta…
- 90‑day notice for obstetric closures: benefit, medium. Beginning 180 days after enactment, covered hospitals would have to notify HHS at least 90 days before closing an obstetric unit. Notices would need a community impact analysis and steps the hospital would take to find other providers. The rule would give communities and officials advance notice bu…
- Grants to improve maternal care workforce: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund state perinatal quality collaboratives ($35 million per year for 2027–2031), regional training centers ($5 million per year for 2027–2031), and a $50 million program in 2027 to expand full‑spectrum doula training. These grants and cooperative agreements would support…
- Higher federal tobacco taxes: cost, high. The bill would raise federal excise taxes on many tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, roll‑your‑own, pipe, and smokeless tobacco. It would tax single‑use smokeless products at $100.66 per 1,000 units, index dollar rates for inflation after 2026, and impose a one‑time floor stocks tax pa…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5515 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5515)

## Related
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3597)
- [119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4504)
- [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-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5515 (as of 2026-10-18).