Budget wins for maternal health!
We are celebrating funding for maternal health care in the Massachusetts State Budget!
7 of our 9 maternal health budget priorities passed in either the House or Senate! 🎉
Every April and May, state legislators debate what to include in the annual state budget. Bay State Birth Coalition and the Mind the Gap Coalition teamed up again to co-advocate for maternal health, midwifery, birth centers, and perinatal mental health. This year, we raised our voices louder than ever in support of funding for birth centers, mental health support, universal postpartum home visiting, and more in the FY27 (fiscal year 2027) budget. Many of our priority amendments passed, and we are thrilled to announce $1.2M for birth centers, 220K for community-based support for new parents, and $4.3M for implementation of the maternal health law including universal postpartum home visiting, midwifery integration, fetal and infant mortality review, and pregnancy loss awareness.
What’s next:
We will advocate for these 7 items to be included in the final budget negotiated by the Senate-House budget conference committee over the next couple of months. TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT MATERNAL HEALTH FUNDING IN THE BUDGET. We will keep you posted on the final outcome!
We will keep advocating for more funding and for the items that did not pass to move forward in some other way (for example, in another spending bill or by passing a law). Stay tuned for action alerts and opportunities to advocate.
$1.2M for Birth Centers
$1M for birth center grants (passed by Senate)
$100K for Neighborhood Birth Center (passed by Senate)
$75K for Seven Sisters Midwifery (passed by House)
$25K for Worcester Community Midwifery (passed by House)
Maternal Health & Mental Health Funding
$4.3M for maternal health law implementation (passed by Senate) - Funds universal postpartum home visiting, midwife integration, perinatal mood and anxiety digital resources and awareness campaign, fetal and infant mortality review, and pregnancy loss awareness
$220K for Moms Matter Act perinatal mental health grants (passed by Senate)
Midwives reimbursement correction
This budget item was not for funding, but makes an important fix to the law that will help ensure access to midwifery care for low income people in Massachusetts. Makes a technical correction to the law to ensure that the MassHealth midwifery reimbursement applies to all categories of MassHealth plans as originally intended in the 2024 Maternal Health Law. (passed by Senate)
What did not pass in this year’s budget:
Midwifery Workforce Fund and an earmark for the Center for Maternal Health Advancement.
We will keep pushing to get these passed another way!
Maternal Health FY27 Budget Honor Roll
(Our sponsors and co-sponsors)
Representatives who championed one or more of our maternal health priorities in the House budget:
Marjorie Decker, Brandy Fluker-Reid, Lindsay Sabadosa, Chris Worrell, David LeBouef
Senators who championed one or more of our maternal health priorities in the Senate budget:
Liz Miranda, Brendan Crighton, Joan Lovely, Nick Collins
Representatives who cosponsored or sponsored all 8 of our priority House budget amendments for maternal health this year:
Marjorie Decker, Russell Holmes, David LeBoeuf, Steven Ouellette
Representatives who cosponsored or sponsored 4 to 7 of our 8 priority House budget amendments for maternal health this year:
Christine Barber, Michelle Ciccolo, Manny Cruz, Lisa Field, Brandy Fluker-Reid, Natalie Higgins, Sally Kerans, Bill MacGregor, Joseph McGonagle, Paul McMurtry, Tram Nguyen, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Erika Uyterhoeven, Christopher Worrell,
Senators who cosponsored or sponsored all 4 of our priority Senate budget amendments for maternal health this year:
Nick Collins, James Eldridge, Vanna Howard, Jason Lewis, Liz Miranda, Michael Moore, Pavel Payano, Rebecca Rausch
Midwives Reimbursement Correction - PASSED by Senate
Policy fix to ensure that midwifery access passed in the 2024 Maternal Health Law applies to all MassHealth plans, including MCO/ACO plans, as intended.
Senator Brendan Crighton’s Senate Amendment 416, Midwives Reimbursement Correction, cosponsored by: Senators Nick Collins, Brendan Crighton (lead sponsor), William Driscoll, Lydia Edwards, James Eldridge, Vanna Howard, Robyn Kennedy, Jason Lewis, Joan Lovely, Liz Miranda, Michael Moore, Patrick O'Connor, Pavel Payano, Rebecca Rausch
Representatives Brandy Fluker-Reid and Marjorie Decker’s House Amendment 1427 CNM Parity, cosponsored by: Hannah Bowen, Mike Connolly, Manny Cruz, Marjorie Decker, Brandy Fluker-Reid, William Galvin, Natalie Higgins, Russell Holmes, Kevin Honan, Sally Kerans, John Lawn, David LeBoeuf, Jack Lewis, William MacGregor, Steven Ouellette, Adrianne Ramos, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Erika Uyterhoeven, Christopher Worrell
Midwifery Workforce Development Fund - Did not pass
Senator Joan Lovely’s Senate Amendment 526 Midwifery Workforce Development Fund, cosponsored by: Senators Nick Collins, William Driscoll, James Eldridge, Vanna Howard, John Keenan, Robyn Kennedy, Jason Lewis, Joan Lovely (lead sponsor), Paul Mark, Liz Miranda, Michael Moore, Patrick O'Connor, Pavel Payano, Rebecca Rausch, Michael Rush
Representative Lindsay Sabadosa’s House Amendment 359 Midwifery Workforce Development Fund, cosponsored by: James Arena-DeRosa, Christine Barber, Hannah Bowen, Antonio Cabral, Michael Chaisson, Tackey Chan, Michelle Ciccolo, Mike Connolly, Rob Consalvo, Marjorie Decker, Patricia Duffy, Rodney Elliott, Lisa Field, James Hawkins, Natalie Higgins, Russell Holmes, Kevin Honan, Tara Hong, Sally Kerans, David LeBoeuf, David Linsky, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, William MacGregor, Adrian Madaro, Joseph McGonagle,, Samantha Montaño, Brian Murray, Tram Nguyen, Steven Ouellette, David Robertson, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Dawne Shand, Thomas Stanley, Erika Uyterhoeven
Birth Center Grants - PASSED by Senate for $1M
Included in Senate Ways & Means Budget; no amendment needed. First filed in the Senate by Senator Liz Miranda in the FY24 budget.
Funding for Neighborhood Birth Center - PASSED by Senate for $100K
Senator Liz Miranda’s Senate Amendment 517 Neighborhood Birth Center, cosponsored by: Senators Nick Collins, William Driscoll, Lydia Edwards, James Eldridge, Vanna Howard, Jason Lewis, Joan Lovely, Liz Miranda (lead sponsor), Michael Moore, Pavel Payano, Rebecca Rausch
Representative Chris Worrell’s House Amendment 912 Neighborhood Birth Center, cosponsored by: Jennifer Armini, Christine Barber, Daniel Cahill, Rob Consalvo, Manny Cruz, Marjorie Decker, Lisa Field, Russell Holmes, Sally Kerans, David LeBoeuf, William MacGregor, Adrian Madaro, Joseph McGonagle,, Paul McMurtry, Samantha Montaño, Tram Nguyen, Steven Ouellette, Erika Uyterhoeven, Chris Worrell
Funding for Seven Sisters Midwifery and Birth Center - PASSED by House for $75K
Representative Lindsay Sabadosa’s House Amendment 353 Seven Sisters Midwifery, cosponsored by: Manny Cruz, Marjorie Decker, Russell Holmes, John Lawn, David LeBoeuf, John Marsi, Steven Ouellette, Lindsay Sabadosa
Funding for Worcester Community Midwifery - PASSED by House for $25K
Representative David LeBouef’s House Amendment 553 Worcester Community Midwifery, cosponsored by: Manny Cruz, Marjorie Decker, Daniel Donahue, Natalie Higgins, Russell Holmes, Mary Keefe, David LeBoeuf, John Marsi, Steven Ouellette, David Robertson
Funding for Center for Maternal Health Advancement - Did not pass
Senator Nick Collins’ Senate Amendment 577 Center for Maternal Health Advancement, cosponsored by: Senators Nick Collins (lead sponsor), James Eldridge, Dylan Fernandes, Vanna Howard, Jason Lewis, Liz Miranda, Michael Moore, Patrick O'Connor, Pavel Payano, Rebecca Rausch
Representative Marjorie Decker’s House Amendment 1716 Center for Maternal Health Advancement, cosponsored by: Tackey Chan, Michelle Ciccolo, Manny Cruz, Marjorie Decker, Lisa Field, Brandy Fluker-Reid, Natalie Higgins, Russell Holmes, Patrick Kearney, Sally Kerans, David LeBoeuf, William MacGregor, Joseph McGonagle,, Paul McMurtry, Tram Nguyen, Steven Ouellette, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Erika Uyterhoeven, Tommy Vitolo, Christopher Worrell
Moms Matter Act - PASSED by Senate for $220K
Included in Senate Ways & Means Budget; no amendment needed. First filed in the Senate by Senator Liz Miranda in the FY26 budget.
Representative Brandy Fluker-Reid’s House Amendment 1063 Moms Matter Act, cosponsored by: James Arciero, Michelle Badger, Christine Barber, Hannah Bowen, Simon Cataldo, Michael Chaisson, Tackey Chan, Michelle Ciccolo, Mike Connolly, Rob Consalvo, Manny Cruz, Michael Day, Marjorie Decker, Mindy Domb, Daniel Donahue, Lisa Field, Brandy Fluker-Reid, William Galvin, Natalie Higgins, Russell Holmes, Kevin Honan, Tara Hong, Bradley Jones,, Patrick Kearney, Sally Kerans, David LeBoeuf, Jack Lewis, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, Jay Livingstone, William MacGregor, Adrian Madaro, Christopher Markey, Joseph McGonagle, Paul McMurtry, Samantha Montaño, John Moran, Steven Ouellette, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Danillo Sena, Todd Smola, Thomas Stanley, Erika Uyterhoeven, Marcus Vaughn, Tommy Vitolo, Christopher Worrell
Funding for Implementation of the Maternal Health Law - PASSED by Senate for $4.3M
Included in Senate Ways & Means Budget for the first time; no amendment needed
Representative Marjorie Decker’s House Amendment 1695 Maternal Health Law Implementation, cosponsored by: Jennifer Armini, Bruce Ayers, Christine Barber, Michelle Ciccolo, Manny Cruz, Marjorie Decker, Lisa Field, Brandy Fluker-Reid, Natalie Higgins, Russell Holmes, Sally Kerans, David LeBoeuf, William MacGregor, Joseph McGonagle, Paul McMurtry, Tram Nguyen, Steven Ouellette, Estela Reyes, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Chynah Tyler, Erika Uyterhoeven