In this paper, I will be providing an explanation and overview of the Maternal Mortality Omnibus Bill, and how it has aimed to affect maternal health. This bill (which will be referred to as this MMOB for short from here on) may also be referred to as the, “Improving Health Care for Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals Act,” as that is a more specific name for it, whereas MMOB is a much more generic term. It was introduced by the Illinois General Assembly in 2021 and its main goal is to target concerns of high maternal mortality/morbidity rates in Illinois. Particularly, the bill is also meant to decrease the amount of obstacles that are in the way for some people to actually access care. In 2018, a report from the Illinois Department of Health demonstrated exactly that; the rates of maternal mortality and morbidity—especially among Black parents giving birth—were noticeably high, which prompted this bill to be written and passed.
This bill was specifically introduced by Senator Cristina Castro in February 2021, and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 27th, 2021. This bill demanded the Department of Human Services put more manpower and focus into its maternal child health programs to benefit pregnant and postpartum people, especially those considered high-risk. All of the services this bill outlines were designated to be distributed by licensed social workers, registered nurses, and/or other health professional staff with training in behavioral health.
There are several different specific goals this bill sets out to accomplish. One of which is making it easier for people to access long-acting reversible contraception in the hopes that there are fewer unplanned pregnancies, which would also have the effect of decreased mortality rates among birthing mothers. The bill outlines that it will force insurance plans to make the cost of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) isolated from that of other postpartum services, which makes LARC more accessible for people to receive after having given birth. Another thing this bill aims to improve is new parents’ access to case management services, especially those of low-income or high-risk pregnancies, particularly relating to that of mental health and substance abuse treatment. These services include parenting guidance, teaching parents on child development, and exposing them to other resources that may be beneficial to them.
Guaranteeing coverage over needed in- and outpatient treatment services is yet another primary goal of this bill. The idea here is that it will help pregnant parents get the care that they require to have a healthy delivery, which will decrease the chance of her mortality. The last goal that will be covered here is the provision of 48-hours of inpatient treatment without any waiting times. This means that if a pregnant person needs to go to the hospital and get treatment right away, whether it be for detoxification or managing withdrawal, she may be able to, which will help treat and/or prevent many conditions or symptoms that could contraindicate pregnancy.
Through these goals alone, it is evident that this MMOB plays a massive role in progressing maternal health and survivability, especially in women of higher risk (whether biologically or systemically). This includes many women of minority ethnic and racial groups, as they are more often low-income and/or systematically disadvantaged compared to whites (especially relevant to note is worse healthcare). Because Black women are about six times more likely to experience maternal mortality than white women, this Bill aims to make that disparity a little less sizable. Especially by providing those case management resources and more forgiving access to inpatient hospital care, African American women, Hispanic women, and women and families of other racial backgrounds will face less adversity in getting adequate prenatal and postnatal care.
To add to this, unintended pregnancy rates are also much greater among women with lower income than those of middle or higher socioeconomic class. This bill’s focus on also improving accessibility to contraception and the affordability of it through insurance has played a role in making these rates go down. Greater unintended pregnancy rates equate to greater maternal mortality rate, so lowering the former will likely be successful in lowering the latter. Thus, the bill’s targeting of making contraception more available not only makes low-income individuals less likely to get unexpectedly pregnant via unprotected intercourse, but it also allows them to avoid deliveries carrying even the slightest bit of risk to the mother.
In conclusion, this Maternal Mortality Omnibus Bill is a policy change that has had the primary goal of improving the survival rate of women before, during and after childbirth. There is an apparent particular focus on women of low-income and women of color, as their maternal mortality rates are especially high, some of the provisions this bill includes are targeted towards benefitting them for the most part. Overall, by providing better means of obtaining contraception, immediate inpatient and outpatient treatment, and case management services, this policy change’s objective is to reduce the uneven differences to access to prenatal/postnatal healthcare in women of different demographics and to substantially improve the chance of survival and prosperous post-delivery health for all pregnant people in the state of Illinois.
Sources:
- Illinois Policies Affecting Public Health - EverThrive Illinois
- IDHS: Family Case Management (state.il.us)
- Maternal Morbidity and Mortality (illinois.gov)
- ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/102/PDF/102-0665.pdf
- Bill Text: IL SB0967 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Engrossed | LegiScan
- Chapter 2: Advancing Maternal and Infant Health by Extending the Postpartum Coverage Period (macpac.gov)
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