House passes AHA-supported maternal health bill

The House of Representatives today passed AHA-supported legislation (H.R. 1318) that would provide funding for states to develop maternal mortality review committees to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions. Ninety organizations, including the AHA, urged lawmakers to send the legislation to the president for his signature before Congress adjourns. “The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act will accelerate progress toward ensuring that every state has a high-functioning process for identifying the causes of maternal mortality and translating recommendations made by maternal mortality review committees to meaningful action,” they wrote. “This legislation will also advance efforts among states to standardize the collection and analysis of data so that we can develop a national understanding of why mothers are dying in the United States and what it will take to reverse this tragic trend.”