ICYMI: Vice President Kamala Harris Hosted First-Ever White House Maternal Health Day of Action

The Vice President issued a nationwide Call to Action to both the public and private sector to help improve maternal health outcomes in the U.S.

Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the first-ever White House Maternal Health Day of Action, where she issued a Call to Action to both the public and private sector to help improve maternal health outcomes in the United States.

At the Summit, the Vice President announced a new Department of Health and Human Services report showing the impact of pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage, and that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is proposing the establishment of "Birthing-Friendly" hospital designation and guidance to states on how to cover Medicaid postpartum services for a year. She also announced that more than 20 companies and nonprofits have pledged to invest over 150 million dollars and take other critical actions to address the maternal health crisis.

See coverage of the event:

Bloomberg: Kamala Harris Rolls Out Plan to Reduce High U.S. Maternal Mortality Rates
[Kelsey Butler, 12/7/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday announced a plan to reduce the country's alarmingly high maternal mortality rate by improving pregnancy and postpartum care nationwide. The strategy includes calling for states to extend postpartum coverage under Medicaid from 2 to 12 months and designating "birthing-friendly" hospitals.

"Maternal mortality and morbidity is a serious crisis and one that endangers both public health and economic growth," Harris said at a White House event.

LA Times: Harris pushes for expansion of maternal healthcare, Medicaid postpartum coverage
[Erin B. Logan, Marissa Evans, 12/7/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday urged Congress to allocate an additional $3 billion for maternal healthcare and expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to one year as part of the proposed social safety net and climate package now before the Senate.

Harris' call to action came during the White House's first Maternal Health Day of Action Summit, held to draw attention to the fact that the U.S. maternal mortality rate is more than double that of most other developed nations.

"In the United States of America, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such great risk," Harris said during the summit.

Good Morning America: White House issues nationwide call to action on maternal health crisis
[Katie Kindelan, 12/7/21]

The Biden administration on Tuesday issued a "nationwide call to action" on the maternal health crisis in the United States, which continues to have the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations, according to researchers.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in remarks at the White House's first Maternal Health Day of Action that the call to action is being made to both the public and private sectors.

"This challenge is urgent, and it is important, and it will take all of us," Harris said, kicking off a summit that convened lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries and celebrities, including Olympian Allyson Felix. "To put it simply, in the United States of America, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such great risk."

CNN: Harris to mark Maternal Health Day of Action at White House summit
[Jasmine Wright, Jacqueline Howard, 12/7/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris will mark the White House's first ever Maternal Health Day of Action on Tuesday when she hosts a summit with lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries and celebrities, a White House official said. […]

The official added that leading up to the summit, members of the administration have kept up a steady pace of behind-the-scenes meetings on the issue -- at the vice president's direction. […]

Those efforts, which Harris will announce Tuesday, include a Department of Health and Human Services report that shows the positive impact for mothers if states expand their Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months. Also included is new guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help states provide that expanded Medicaid coverage and a proposal from the agency to establish "Birthing-Friendly" designations at hospitals.

Fortune: Broadsheet: Kamala Harris introduces plan to reduce the U.S. maternal mortality rate—the highest among the world's developed nations
[Claire Zillman, Kristen Bellstrom, 12/8/21]

"In the United States of America, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such great risk," said Vice President Kamala Harris, who led the event. "Women in our nation are dying—before, during and after childbirth."

Harris touted new administration proposals to bolster women's health care before, during, and after child birth, including urging states to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months (from the current two), providing funding for doulas and maternal mental health resources, and establishing 'birthing-friendly' designations at hospitals. The proposals draw from the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act that Rep. Lauren Underwood (D–Ill.) introduced early last year.

The initiatives signal progress on an issue that's received too little attention, but they rely in part on $3 billion in funding that's part of the Build Back Better Act, which is stalled in the Senate, meaning some provisions could get negotiated away. The proposal also underscores how the U.S.—a country that glorifies motherhood to the detriment of women—has until now done so little to meet the basic needs of mothers, especially those from marginalized communities.

Reuters: VP Harris to promote maternal health in White House event
[Alexandra Alper, Nandita Bose, 12/7/2021]

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced new steps to improve maternal health in the United States, including investments of over $20 million, increased Medicaid postpartum coverage and an initiative to designate hospitals based on their maternal care.

Harris made the announcements during a White House meeting to promote improvements in maternal health, noting the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any wealthy nation in the world.

"In the United States of America, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such a great risk," the vice president said. "But the truth is, women in our nation are dying before, during and after childbirth."

The Hill: Harris talks maternal health with Olympian Allyson Felix
[Judy Kurtz, 12/7/21]

Allyson Felix is stressing the importance of maternal health, saying in a Tuesday sit-down with Vice President Harris that it's an issue that "doesn't discriminate."

"We cannot be a society that is losing mothers," Harris said in her chat with the Olympic sprinter as part of the White House's inaugural Maternal Health Day of Action. "And it's so preventable." […]

Maternal mortality rates in the United States are among the highest in the developed world, according to the White House. It's not the first time that Harris and Felix joined forces to promote maternal health — the pair discussed the same topic in an Instagram Live session last year.

The 19th: 'This challenge is urgent': Kamala Harris holds summit to address pregnancy-related deaths
[Mariel Padilla, 12/7/21]

At the event attended by lawmakers, advocates and celebrities, Vice President Kamala Harris issued a nationwide call to action for private and public sectors to improve health outcomes for pregnant people in the United States, where pregnancy-related deaths occur at a higher rate than in other countries with similar incomes.

"This challenge is urgent and it is important and it will take all of us," Harris said. " And to put it simply, here's how I feel about this: In the United States of America, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such great risk. But the truth — and this is a hard truth — women in our nation are dying before, during and after childbirth."

Spectrum News: VP Harris, Allyson Felix, providers call for action on maternal health: 'Women in our nation are dying'
[Austin Landis, 12/7/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris opened the White House's first summit on maternal health on Tuesday, calling on both the public and private sector to address pregnant women's health, safe childbirth and postpartum care, as the United States maintains the highest maternal mortality rate among similar, developed nations.

The day-long gathering included members of congress, health care providers, advocates like Olympian Allyson Felix and top health officials, as the administration rolled out new initiatives to improve birthing outcomes and health coverage for women and their newborns after birth.

"This is a hard truth. Women in our nation are dying — before, during and after childbirth," Vice President Harris said to begin the summit on Tuesday. "When we know that, we should do something about it."

Fox 13: White House says country facing maternal health crisis
[12/7/21]

The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation in the world with rates more than double the rate of any of its peer nations. Tuesday, the White House held the first-ever federal Maternal Health Day of Action to address these staggering trends. Studies show Black and Native American women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to white women.

During today's summit, Antoinette "Toni" Brown, a mother from Illinois, shared her story with lawmakers. Her daughter died in 2017 after health complications from giving birth. […]

Hundreds of women die every year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Studies show more than 65 percent of those deaths are preventable. Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris issued a nationwide call to action to both public and private industries to help improve maternal health outcomes. If approved by Congress, the administration says the Build Back Better Act has $3 billion for maternal health.

WPSA 7: Vice President calls for action to improve maternal health
[Basil John, 12/8/21]

"Women in our nation are dying before, during and after childbirth," Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday.

Harris is calling on the private and public sectors to improve maternal health, as recent studies show minority and rural women in the U.S. experience poorer outcomes.

"When it comes to pregnancy and childbirth, these systemic inequities can be a matter of life and death," Harris said.

One proposal would establish birthing-friendly hospital standards and provide guidance to states on how to cover Medicaid postpartum services for a year.

Washington Post: Opinion: Tackle maternal health disparities, mortality with data and better care
[CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, 12/7/21]

On Tuesday, under the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris, the White House is convening a nationwide Maternal Health Day of Action. The vice president, White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra have a longstanding commitment to addressing maternal health disparities. We are using all the tools at our disposal to effect change.

As a mother and as the first Black woman to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, my mission is to give all parents the greatest gift I can – the support they need to care for and protect their children. CMS is a $1 trillion federal agency that provides health coverage for more than 144 million people and more than 40% of the nation's childbirths, and we are taking important steps to tackle the maternal mortality crisis.

Quad City Metro: Opinion: Why we need to pass the Build Back Better Act
[Congresswoman Alma Adams, 12/7/21]

The Build Back Better Act passed by the House is many things: a jobs bill; an expansion of the social safety net; a down payment on a long-overdue investment in the fight against climate change.
It will also save lives. […]

Thanks in large part to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Build Back Better Act also includes all eligible provisions of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act to address our country's maternal health crisis.

Black women in America die in childbirth at three times the rate of white women. Even though 60% of maternal deaths are preventable, our nation is one of only 13 countries in the world where the rate of maternal mortality is worse than it was 25 years ago. Tens of thousands more women experience "near misses," or pregnancy-related complications that are traumatizing and endanger the life of the mother and/or child.