AHA STATEMENT ON WHITE HOUSE MATERNAL HEALTH DAY OF ACTION

Stacey Hughes
Executive Vice President
American Hospital Association

December 7, 2021

America’s hospitals and health systems are committed to providing the best possible care for all women, including pregnant women, new mothers and their babies, and to amplifying the voices of women of color who are disproportionately affected by maternal morbidity and mortality. Today, the American Hospital Association applauds the White House, Representatives Lauren Underwood and Alma Adams, and the Black Maternal Health Caucus for their leadership in addressing the gaps in health care access, coverage, and workforce that contribute to disparities in maternal health outcomes.

The AHA is pleased that several key provisions to advance equitable maternal health are moving forward in Congress, including extending Medicaid and CHIP coverage for one year postpartum, strengthening federal maternal health programs, bolstering research efforts, addressing behavioral health needs, promoting cultural competency training, growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce, and confronting the societal factors that influence health.   

Our members proudly stand with you in this unprecedented federal effort to improve the health of the nation’s mothers and babies.   

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Contact:         Sean Barry, (202) 626-2306, sbarry@aha.org 
                       Marie Johnson, (202) 626-2351, mjohnson@aha.org

About the American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.