Support the Midwives for Service Members Act

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Action Alert

Ask your legislators to co-sponsor
the MIDWIVES for Service Members Act

Email your U.S. Representatives today!

The MIDWIVES for Service Members Act (H.R. 3202) would direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct a pilot program to provide services from midwives to covered beneficiaries under the TRICARE program.

The result would be to increase access to maternity care for servicemembers and their spouses by extending TRICARE coverage to additional midwives through a 5- year pilot program. Adding Certified Professional Midwives and Certified Midwives as authorized providers will increase access to birth centers and midwifery care.

As hospitals on military bases close their maternity units, TRICARE beneficiaries must find their own providers for care. Active duty and spouses may have to drive long distances just to access prenatal and pregnancy care services.
Midwives and birth centers have been shown by multiple studies, including CMS-funded Strong Start to improve the health of mothers and babies, increase patient satisfaction, and lead to cost savings.
Currently, only CNMs can be authorized providers under TRICARE. Over half of all birth centers are staffed by CPMs. When CPMs and CMs are added as covered providers, will double the access to birth centers and birth center care for our active duty and spouses of TRICARE beneficiaries.

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Please email your legislators' offices TODAY to urge them to co-sponsor the MIDWIVES for Service Members Act (H.R. 3202).

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Ask your legislators to co-sponsor the Midwives for Service Members Act

US House of Representatives

Subject: Co-Sponsor the Midwives for Service Members Act (H.R. 3202)

Message:

I am a constituent writing to ask you to co-sponsor the Midwives for Service Members Act (H.R. 3202). This bill would establish a five-year pilot project to provide coverage for TRICARE beneficiaries for care provided by CMs and CPMs in birth centers and other settings.

We have an urgent problem for service members and their spouses who are TRICARE beneficiaries and need maternity care services. A growing number of hospitals on military bases no longer provide maternity care to their active duty members and their spouses. When this care is needed, military beneficiaries must seek prenatal, birth, and postpartum care independently from an authorized provider. For some, this means driving long distances for care.

Birth centers are part of the solution to this lack of access but are currently underutilized. Birth centers provide high-quality midwifery-led care with excellent outcomes, but only one midwifery credential, the Certified Nurse-Midwife, is covered by TRICARE. Other licensed midwives, including Certified Professional Midwives and Certified Midwives are not authorized as providers.

Over half of all US birth centers are staffed by Certified Professional Midwives who are currently excluded from being covered as authorized providers in TRICARE. This means when these services are chosen, military families have to pay out-of-pocket. When CPMs and CMs are added as covered providers, that will double the access to birth centers and birth center care.

According to the March of Dimes, 36% of U.S. counties have no perinatal care services. In these areas, pregnancy-related deaths and serious complications are higher.

Birth centers provide reductions in newborn complications, NICU admissions, and significantly reduced cesarean rates that lead to cost savings compared to typical care. Strong Start demonstrated savings of over $2000 during the first year of life for every mother-baby pair who participated in birth center care compared to those with similar risk levels in usual care.

I hope I can count on your support for this important maternal and infant health legislation for our military families.

Please contact Betsy.Dudley in Representative Marilyn Strickland's (WA-10) office at [email protected] to cosponsor the Midwives for Service Members Act (H.R. 3202).

Sincerely,

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