Following reports from the GAO and the CDC finding that maternal health outcomes have worsened in recent years, Senator Reverend Warnock renewed his calls for federal policies to improve maternal health across Georgia and the country

The CDC report found that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable

Senator Reverend Warnock has worked across the aisle to address this urgent issue, teaming up with Senator Rubio to successfully include their Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act in the annual funding package

Senator Reverend Warnock has championed addressing maternal health disparities, including introducing the Kira Johnson Actand the Improving Coordination for Healthy Moms Actto address the nation’s maternal health crisis

Senator Reverend Warnock is a proponent of closing the Medicaid coverage gap in Georgia, which would improve maternal health outcomes, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Senator Reverend Warnock: “These reports make it clear that maternal mortality is a crisis, which is why I am working with folks from both parties to pass policy solutions to address this crisis, including closing the coverage gap here in Georgia”

Washington D.C. — In light of recent reports from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that maternal health outcomes have worsened in recent years, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) renewed his calls for federal policies to improve maternal health across Georgia and the country.

Senator Warnock has fought to improve maternal health outcomes for moms in Georgia and throughout the country. In the richest nation on earth, moms are dying at higher rates than other high-income countries – and the rate is rising. The crisis is most severe for Black moms in the U.S., who are dying at a significantly higher rate than their white counterparts, according to the CDC. 

The recently released GAO report found that maternal health outcomes have worsened since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the pandemic becoming a contributing factor to the increase in maternal deaths. The report additionally found that maternal deaths have increased for Black women, Hispanic women, and white women between 2019 and 2021. According to the GAO, the maternal death rate for Black women was 44.0 per 100,000 live births in 2019, 55.3 in 2020, and 68.9 in 2021. For Hispanic women, it was 12.6 in 100,000 live births in 2019, and increased significantly during the pandemic, with 18.2 in 2020 and 27.5 in 2021. For white women, death rates were 17.9, 19.1, and 26.1, respectively, in those years.

Additionally, the CDC report found that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. The report found that 22% of deaths occurred during pregnancy, 25% occurred on the day of delivery or within 7 days after, and 53% occurred between 7 days to 1 year after pregnancy. The report concluded that mental health conditions were a significant underlying factor to pregnancy-related deaths.

“Tragically, too many women—especially Black women and women of color—are losing their lives unnecessarily during and after childbirth. That’s unacceptable in the U.S,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “These reports make it clear that maternal mortality is a crisis, which is why I am working with folks from both parties to pass policy solutions to address this crisis, including closing the coverage gap here in Georgia.” 

See below for the ways in which Senator Warnock is working to improve the maternal health crisis in Georgia:

Maternal health legislation:

Senator Warnock has worked across the aisle to address this urgent issue, teaming up with Senator Rubio to successfully include their Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act in the annual funding package. The legislation will improve maternal health by authorizing new grant programs to reduce maternal mortality and improve implicit bias training for providers.

As a champion of addressing maternal health disparities, Senator Reverend Warnock has introduced the Kira Johnson Act and the Improving Coordination for Healthy Moms Act to address the nation’s maternal health crisis. The Kira Johnson Act—included in the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act —would provide funding to community-based organizations leading the charge to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly for Black women, in Georgia and across the nation.

Closing the Medicaid coverage gap in Georgia:

Senator Warnock is a proponent of closing the Medicaid coverage gap in Georgia, which would improve maternal health outcomes. Expansion would reduce rates of uncompensated care at hospitals and would help prevent hospitals from shutting down their obstetrics unit. Financially struggling hospitals often close their obstetrics (labor and delivery) units first due to cost constraints. In Georgia, 58 out of 159 counties lack obstetric providers or hospitals that offer obstetric care. Expansion would also ensure that women have access to health care before they are pregnant, which studies have shown that the longer people are covered by health insurance and have access to quality care, the better health outcomes they have.

Improving access to mental health services:

According to the CDC, mental health conditions were a significant underlying factor to pregnancy-related deaths. That’s why Senator Warnock has been a leading voice in the Senate for improving access to mental health. Earlier this year, he introduced a slate of five bills that will improve and expand access to mental health care for all Georgians and Americans

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