H.R. 8074

Kira Johnson Act

Sponsor: Alma S. Adams

62 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Kira Johnson Act

This bill establishes various grants for establishing or expanding programs to advance maternal health equity.

Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants for

  • community-based programs to improve maternal health outcomes for demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, maternal health disparities, and other adverse outcomes;
  • training for health care providers and others who work in maternity care settings on reducing and preventing racism, bias, and discrimination; and
  • programs in hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care settings to establish processes to identify and address instances of racism or evidence of bias in maternity care (i.e., respectful maternity care compliance programs).

Also, HHS must contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study issues related to the training programs, and the Government Accountability Office must study issues related to the respectful maternity care compliance programs.

Text of the bill

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Sec. 6. GAO report

(a) In general. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Congress and make publicly available a report on the establishment of respectful maternity care compliance programs within hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care settings.

(b) Matters included. The report under subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) Information regarding the extent to which hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care settings have elected to establish respectful maternity care compliance programs, including—

(A) which hospitals and other birth settings elect to establish compliance programs and when such programs are established;

(B) to the extent practicable, impacts of the establishment of such programs on maternal health outcomes and patient and family experiences in the hospitals and other birth settings that have established such programs, especially for patients from racial and ethnic minority groups and their families;

(C) information on geographic areas, and types of hospitals or other birth settings, where respectful maternity care compliance programs are not being established and information on factors contributing to decisions to not establish such programs; and

(D) recommendations for establishing respectful maternity care compliance programs in geographic areas, and types of hospitals or other birth settings, where such programs are not being established.

(2) Whether the funding made available to carry out this section has been sufficient and, if applicable, recommendations for additional appropriations to carry out this section.

(3) Such other information as the Comptroller General determines appropriate.