Senate Appropriations Committee Recommends Increased Funding for Maternal Health and Mental Health Programs
Shalini Wickramatilake, MHS
By Shalini Wickramatilake, MHS
On October 18, 2021, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), released nine fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) bill. Similar to the House Appropriations Committee, which passed their L-HHS funding bill over the summer, the Senate Appropriations Committee recommends increased funding for several mental health, maternal health, substance use, and other public health programs.
While FY 2022 technically started on October 1, 2021, because lawmakers were unable to pass a final funding package prior to that date, they instead passed a stopgap funding measure--a continuing resolution--to keep the government open. The continuing resolution that they passed expires on December 3, 2021, so the House and Senate will need to reach a final FY 2022 appropriations deal by then in order to keep the government-funded.
The Senate Appropriations Committee includes the following summary of funding for maternal mortality programs: “Each year, approximately 700 women in the United States die from conditions related to or associated with pregnancy or childbirth. To address the unacceptably high levels of maternal mortality, which disproportionately impact women of color, the bill proposes a total of $237,000,000, an increase of $170,000,000, for the initiative, including:
Early Childhood Development Expert Grants.—$25,000,000 for a new HRSA program to help cities place early childhood development experts in pediatric offices with a high percentage of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program patients.
Implicit Bias Training Grants for Health Providers.—$7,000,000 to support new HRSA grants to train healthcare providers on implicit bias with the goal of reducing racial disparities;
Improving Maternal Outcomes.—$30,000,000, for the NIH new Implementing a Maternal Health and rRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative to expand research to reduce preventable causes of maternal death and improve the health of pregnant and postpartum women;
Pregnancy Medical Home Demonstration.—$25,000,000 for a new HRSA program to incentivize maternal healthcare providers to provide integral healthcare services to pregnant women and new mothers;
Safe Motherhood and Infant Health.—$43,000,000, an increase of $26,000,000, for CDC to expand support for State Maternal Mortality Review Committees; and —State Maternal Health Innovation Grants.—$55,000,000, an increase of $32,000,000, to expand HRSA grants for maternal care services, workforce needs, and postpartum and interconception care services.”
Based on Mom Congress’ analysis, other proposed funding includes:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): $9.1 billion (+$3 billion compared to FY 2021)
Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) Block Grant: $1.582 billion (+$825 million compared to FY 2021) to support mental health service delivery
Project AWARE: $180 million (+$73 million compared to FY 2021) to support mental health services for youth
National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative $81 million (+$10 million compared to FY 2021)
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: $5 million (+$7 million compared to FY 2021)
Children’s Mental Health program: $125 million (level funding compared to FY 2021)
Zero Suicide: $27 million (+$ million compared to FY 2021)
Suicide Lifeline: $109 million (+$85 million compared to FY 2021)
American Indian and Alaska Native Suicide Prevention: $2.9 million (level compared to FY 2021)
Mental Health Crisis Response Partnership Pilot Program (proposed by House): not funded by Senate
Interagency Task Force for Trauma-Informed Care: unspecified
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant: $3.0 billion (+$1.15 billion compared to FY 2021)
State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants: $2 billion (+$500 million compared to FY 2021)
Pregnant and Parenting Women: $49.4 million (+$16.5 million compared to FY 2021)
Children and Families within SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT): $30.2 million (+$592 thousand compared to FY 2021)
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):
Maternal and Child Health Block Grant: $857 million (+$145 million compared to FY 2021)
Alliance for Maternal Health Safety Bundles: $14 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)
State Maternal Health Innovation Grants: $55 million (+$32 million above the FY 2021)
Maternal Mental Health Hotline: $5 million (+$2 million above the FY 2021)
Pregnancy Medical Home Demonstration: $25 million (+$25 million compared to FY 2021; House also recommend $25 million for this demonstration program)
Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression and Related Disorders: $10 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)
Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS): $10 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)
Administration for Children and Families (ACF):
Child Care and Development Block Grant: $7.3 billion (+$1.4 billion compared to FY 2021)
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment State Grants: $125 million (+$35 million compared to FY 2021)
Domestic Violence Hotline: $23 million (+$10 million compared to FY 2021)
National Institutes of Health (NIH):
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): $2.218 billion (+$114 million)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): $1.83 billion (+$377 million)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): $569 million (+$15 million)
Increase of $30,000,000 for the Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative
Office of Research on Women’s Health: $43 million (+$15 million compared to FY 2021)
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS):
Office of Minority Health: $67 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)
Office on Women’s Health: $43 million (+$8 million compared to FY 2021)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Safe Motherhood/Infant Health: $43 million (+$26 million)
Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies: $15 million (+$5 million)
Mom Congress applauds the work of both the Senate and House appropriations committees on proposing increased funding for maternal health and mental health programs.