Senators Collins, Bipartisan Group Introduce Legislation to Expand Rural Access to Maternal Health Care

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced legislation to support rural health care facilities in providing urgent obstetric care. Their bipartisan Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would help prepare rural hospitals and practitioners to handle the obstetric emergencies that come through their doors as more delivery units, particularly those in rural areas, are being forced into closing.

Between 2011 and 2021, more than 260 rural hospitals in the U.S. shut down their obstetrics services, representing one in four of the nation’s rural obstetric units. Ten of Maine’s 25 rural hospitals do not have obstetric services. Nationally, this trend has left more than 2 million women in a maternity care desert, meaning that they live in a county without a provider offering obstetric care such as labor and delivery. This can lead to longer driving times for care and increased health risks.

“The closure of labor and delivery units in rural Maine and throughout the nation is an urgent issue that threatens the health and safety of mothers and babies,” said Senator Collins. “By creating new opportunities to improve obstetric readiness in rural communities through skills training, workforce development, and telehealth partnerships, this bipartisan legislation would help reduce care gaps and better ensure that more rural Maine communities have access to the maternal care they need.”

The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would help rural hospitals and doctors prepare to handle the obstetric emergencies that come through their doors by:

• Creating training programs to help non-specialists respond to emergencies like labor and delivery;

• Providing federal grants for rural facilities to buy better equipment to train for and handle these emergencies; and

• Developing a pilot program for teleconsultation services, so that a doctor at a rural facility helping an expecting or postpartum mother facing an emergency can quickly consult with maternal health care experts.

Improving access to health care in rural areas has been a focus of Senator Collins’ efforts throughout her Senate service. Last year, Senator Collins secured $2,397,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for projects that will help to improve access to health care throughout Maine in the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. 

The complete text of the bill can be read here.

###