The bulk of remaining bills in state Democrats’ maternal health package, dubbed the “MOMnibus bill,” are awaiting action in the Virginia Senate as the legislative session enters its final days.
“These aren't just bills, these aren't just budget amendments, but they're a lifeline,” said House Speaker Don Scott (D–Portsmouth) at a press conference Wednesday. “They represent a commitment to saving lives, strengthening families and providing hope to communities across Virginia.”
The name is a play on the word omnibus, which describes a bill that covers multiple topics. Scott announced the package in October at the Black Maternal Health Summit, which he organized; the bills are mostly sponsored by members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.
On Valentine’s Day, members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus gathered to “show mom’s some love,” as Del. Candi Mundon-King put it on the House floor Thursday.
“We were just celebrating Black maternal health and the MOMnibus bills, and how far we've come,” said Kenda Sutton-EL, the executive director of Birth in Color, a maternal and reproductive health nonprofit with a focus on people of color.
“We're trying to capture the data … and trying to get a big picture of where we're going,” she said of this legislative session’s efforts.
The Infant mortality rate for babies born to Black Virginians was almost twice as high than their white counterparts, according to a 2024 March of Dimes report, which citedNational Center for Health Statistics.
“Black women continue to experience higher rates of pregnancy-associated deaths when compared to their White counterparts,” according to a 2023 Virginia Maternal Mortality Review Team Report.
Some of the bills focus on state-supported health insurance. Del. Destiny Levere-Bolling (D-Henrico), who gave birth during the legislative session, would create a pregnancy app for Virginia Medicaid recipients. Another bill would make pregnancy a condition automatically eligible for Medicaid. A bill that would allow pregnant people to enroll on the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange as a new qualifying life event is scheduled to come before the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Monday.
It also has a suite of legislation on midwifery, such as expanding midwife practices, guaranteeing pay parity and allowing them to be on call 24 hours a day. Del. Adele McClure (D-Arlington) has bill that would expand doula coverage in the postpartum period that passed the Virginia Senate on Friday. And another House bill awaiting votes would require obstetrics training in all hospitals.
It’s unclear how many of these may become law. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced his own approach to health care in his December budget amendments, which also included additional money for doulas and funding for perinatal hubs — which typically provide services during pregnancy and for a year afterward.
“It is important. It's a priority of the governor,” said Sutton-EL. “So, we would anticipate that there would be no vetoes to the maternal health bills.”
But last year, Youngkin vetoed bills on implicit bias training for medical professionals, and bills creating a family and medical leave program. Similar bills this year have passed both chambers.
“I don't think it's a two-party approach,” said Republican state Sen. Emily Jordan (R–Suffolk), who had postpartum preeclampsia and appeared at Youngkin’s rollout of budget amendments in December. “My bills came out of personal experience. They weren't out of any big partisan agenda, it was just kind of from the heart.”
Jordan has a bill establishing standards for neonatal-perinatal medicine that is also advancing through the Legislature. Another bill that would have created a maternal health coordination program died earlier in the session.
“Oftentimes, women fall through the cracks and they don't get the information they need to know what they might qualify for,” she said.
Scott said the House’s budget had $40 million of amendments to deal with maternal health issues.”
“This is a moral imperative to fix our high maternal mortality rates, but it is also an economic imperative to fix it. A striving economy starts with a striving family,” said Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), who introduced a bill to create a Commission on Women’s Health Policy.
“Mr. Speaker, my favorite number is $13.5 million, because that's how much the Senate budget includes for maternal health, including mobile maternal health clinics and postpartum doula expansion,” said Lucas.
These estimates do not include the fiscal impact of a bill creating a paid family and medical leave program, which had $75 million in start-up costs and $1.7 billion in new payroll taxes to fund it.
Beyond healthcare, legislation to reduce the child-care waitlist is also a component of the proposals.
These are not the only bills this legislative session that are addressing issues facing pregnant women:
- The full Senate on Wednesday passed HB 2235, which prohibits shackling or restraining pregnant people who are incarcerated or those who recently gave birth.
- HB 1727, which would allow for terminating parental rights of those accused of sexual assault if the assault results in a pregnancy, was forwarded by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Wednesday
- HB2328, which requires considering pregnancy when determining bail, will be heard by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee next week
