Bacon sponsors bipartisan bill to provide better postpartum care to more mothers

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) recently sponsored a bipartisan bill that seeks to improve and expand maternal postpartum health under the Medicaid program.

“As a husband, father, and grandfather, I recognize the importance of supporting postpartum women,” Rep. Bacon said on April 26. “Our care for women should extend to postpartum recovery, to ensure that they are living without pain or discomfort, especially when the therapy available is highly effective.”

Rep. Bacon on April 6 sponsored the Optimizing Postpartum Outcomes Act of 2023, H.R. 2480, with five original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).

If enacted, H.R. 2480 would direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on the coverage of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy (PHPT) for postpartum mothers, according to the text of the bill.

The guidance shall include best practices from states with respect to innovative or evidenced-based payment models to increase access to covered pelvic health services, and recommendations for states on available financing options under the Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program Health Services Initiative, according to the bill’s text.

The American Physical Therapy Association, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, and Origin support the bill, which has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.