Social Determinants for Moms Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 8008
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Health
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-03-19: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-09T14:47:23Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The Social Determinants for Moms Act (H.R. 8008) aims to tackle non-medical factors—like housing, food access, and transportation—that affect maternal health, with the goal of ending preventable maternal deaths, serious pregnancy-related health issues (severe maternal morbidity), and unequal health outcomes (maternal health disparities) among different groups.
Key Provisions
- Task Force Creation (Sec. 2): The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) must form a permanent task force with:
- Ex officio members (automatic members) from 17 federal agencies, including HHS, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Transportation (DOT), Agriculture (USDA), Labor (DOL), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and others focused on health, tribes, and women's/minority health.
- Appointed members including patient representatives (e.g., survivors of severe issues or families of those who died), leaders from community organizations (prioritizing those led by high-risk groups), tribal leaders, perinatal health workers (non-doctors like doulas or community health workers), maternity care providers (doctors, midwives, etc.), and other experts.
- The task force develops strategies on topics like barriers to prenatal care, affordable housing, food delivery in "food deserts" (areas with limited healthy food), environmental risks (e.g., pollution, workplace hazards), childcare during appointments, domestic violence, and more.
- Requires annual public reports to Congress starting 2 years after enactment, including agency actions, funding needs, and non-federal recommendations.
- Grants Program (Sec. 3): HHS awards grants to community-based organizations, tribes, urban Indian groups, public health departments, nonprofits, or their consortia to address non-medical factors such as:
- Housing, transportation, nutrition, jobs/work conditions, environment, intimate partner violence.
- Prioritizes high-poverty areas with poor maternal outcomes.
- Provides technical help for long-term program sustainability.
- Grantees report annually (with data broken down by race, ethnicity, etc.); HHS reports to Congress by 2031.
- Authorizes $100 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2031.
- Definitions (Sec. 4): Clarifies terms like maternal mortality (pregnancy-related death within 1 year, including suicides/overdoses linked to pregnancy), severe maternal morbidity (serious health issues from pregnancy), social determinants of maternal health (non-medical factors affecting outcomes), and roles like maternity care providers and perinatal health workers.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Introduces entirely new mechanisms: A cross-agency task force exempt from standard federal advisory committee sunset rules (no automatic end date) and a dedicated grant program with sustained funding.
- No direct amendments to prior laws, but expands focus on "social determinants" beyond clinical care, building on existing maternal health efforts.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Enhances coordination across 17+ agencies; requires annual reporting and strategy implementation, potentially shifting resources toward non-medical factors.
- Citizens: Improves support for pregnant and postpartum individuals (up to 1 year after birth), especially in underserved, high-risk, or high-poverty areas, by funding local services to reduce deaths and disparities.
- International Relations: None mentioned.
- Broader effects could include better health equity, reduced healthcare costs from prevented complications, and data-driven policy improvements.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Agencies: HHS (leads), HUD, DOT, USDA, DOL, EPA, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Indian Health Service (IHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others.
- Communities and Providers: Tribes, urban Indian organizations, community-based groups (especially minority-led), maternity/perinatal workers, doulas, nonprofits.
- Individuals: Pregnant/postpartum people, families affected by maternal deaths/morbidity, particularly racial/ethnic minorities, low-income groups, and those in rural/high-poverty areas.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Authorizes specific appropriations (subject to Congressional approval); mandates data-disaggregated reporting, which could support future lawsuits or equity claims if disparities persist.
- Constitutional: Relies on Congress's spending power for grants and interagency coordination; no apparent conflicts with federalism, as it funds state/local/tribal partners voluntarily.
- Political: Bipartisan sponsorship (119th Congress); emphasizes racial/ethnic disparities and social factors, potentially influencing debates on healthcare equity, public health funding, and non-clinical interventions without restricting abortion or other reproductive rights.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (42)
Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1], Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3], Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1], Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7], Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [D-FL-20], Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9], Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9], Rep. Conaway, Herbert C. [D-NJ-3], Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2], Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1], Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6], Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2], Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8], Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4], Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7], Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-NV-4], Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4], Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1], Rep. Jacobs, Sara [D-CA-51], Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4], Rep. Johnson, Julie [D-TX-32], Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37], Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8], Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16], Rep. McBath, Lucy [D-GA-6], Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3], Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10], Rep. Menefee, Christian D. [D-TX-18], Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4], Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6], Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large], Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7], Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3], Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7], Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9], Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1], Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12], Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9], Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14], Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33], Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12], Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]
Recent Actions
- 2026-03-19: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- 2026-03-19: Introduced in House
- 2026-03-19: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Social Determinants for Moms Act — issued 2026-03-19 — PDF (13 pages)