Maternity Care for Rural Communities Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3]
Introduced
Summary
Removes federal limits on certain Medicaid payments for maternity, labor, and delivery services. It creates an exemption so payments described in 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2)(iii) for qualifying births at certain hospitals face no federal cap for rating periods beginning July 4, 2025.
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- Families: Births paid in whole or in part by Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare, the Indian Health Service, or Native Hawaiian health care, or births where the hospital incurred uncompensated care, count as qualifying births. Payments tied to those births at eligible hospitals can be made without a federal limit.
- Rural, tribal, and high-maternity hospitals: A “specified entity” includes rural hospitals, hospitals run by the Indian Health Service or tribes, and hospitals where at least 50 percent of births were qualifying births in the most recent 12-month data period. Those hospitals are eligible for uncapped maternity payments.
- State Medicaid payers: States may make the payments described in 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2)(iii) to specified entities during rating periods starting July 4, 2025, without applying the usual payment limit.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More flexible maternity payments for rural hospitals
If enacted, the bill would exempt certain maternity, labor, and delivery payments from existing payment limits. The exemption would apply to payments described in 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2)(iii) made during a rating period beginning on or after July 4, 2025. No limit would apply when the payer is a specified entity, such as a rural hospital, an Indian Health Service or tribal hospital, or a hospital where at least 50% of recent births are qualifying births. A qualifying birth would be one paid in whole or part by Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare; provided by the Indian Health Service or a Native Hawaiian health care system; or an uninsured birth where the hospital had uncompensated costs other than charity care.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3]
KS • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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