Kira Johnson Act

(a) In general. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall award grants to accredited hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care settings to establish as an integral part of quality implementation initiatives within one or more hospitals or other birth settings a respectful maternity care compliance program.

(b) Program requirements. A respectful maternity care compliance program funded through a grant under this section shall—

(1) institutionalize mechanisms to allow patients receiving maternity care services, the families of such patients, or perinatal health workers supporting such patients to report instances of racism or evidence of bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, or another protected class;

(2) institutionalize response mechanisms through which representatives of the program can directly follow up with the patient, if possible, and the patient’s family in a timely manner;

(3) prepare and make publicly available a hospital- or health system-wide strategy to reduce bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, or another protected class in the delivery of maternity care that includes—

(A) information on the training programs to reduce and prevent bias, racism, and discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or another protected class for all employees in maternity care settings;

(B) information on the number of cases reported to the compliance program; and

(C) the development of methods to routinely assess the extent to which bias, racism, or discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or another protected class is present in the delivery of maternity care to patients from racial and ethnic minority groups;

(4) develop mechanisms to routinely collect and publicly report hospital-level data related to patient-reported experience of care; and

(5) provide annual reports to the Secretary with information about each case reported to the compliance program over the course of the year containing such information as the Secretary may require, such as—

(A) deidentified demographic information on the patient in the case, such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, and primary language;

(B) the content of the report from the patient or the family of the patient to the compliance program;

(C) the response from the compliance program; and

(D) to the extent applicable, institutional changes made as a result of the case.

(c) Secretary requirements

(1) Processes. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish processes for—

(A) disseminating best practices for establishing and implementing a respectful maternity care compliance program within a hospital or other birth setting;

(B) promoting coordination and collaboration between hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care delivery settings on the establishment and implementation of respectful maternity care compliance programs; and

(C) evaluating the effectiveness of respectful maternity care compliance programs on maternal health outcomes and patient and family experiences, especially for patients from racial and ethnic minority groups and their families.

(2) Study

(A) In general. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, through a contract with an independent research organization, conduct a study on strategies to address—

(i) racism or bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, or another protected class in the delivery of maternity care services; and

(ii) successful implementation of respectful care initiatives.

(B) Components of study. The study shall include the following:

(i) An assessment of the reports submitted to the Secretary from the respectful maternity care compliance programs pursuant to subsection (b)(5).

(ii) Based on such assessment, recommendations for potential accountability mechanisms related to cases of racism or bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, or another protected class in the delivery of maternity care services at hospitals and other birth settings. Such recommendations shall take into consideration medical and nonmedical factors that contribute to adverse patient experiences and maternal health outcomes.

(C) Report. The Secretary shall submit to the Congress and make publicly available a report on the results of the study under this paragraph.

(d) Authorization of appropriations. To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2027 through 2032.