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

Expand all
Sec. 7. Definitions

In this Act:

(1) Culturally and linguistically congruent. The term culturally and linguistically congruent, with respect to care or maternity care, means care that is in agreement with the preferred cultural values, beliefs, worldview, language, and practices of the health care consumer and other stakeholders.

(2) Maternal mortality. The term maternal mortality means a death occurring during or within a 1-year period after pregnancy, caused by pregnancy-related or childbirth complications, including a suicide, overdose, or other death resulting from a mental health or substance use disorder attributed to or aggravated by pregnancy-related or childbirth complications.

(3) Perinatal health worker. The term perinatal health worker means a nonclinical health worker focused on maternal or perinatal health, such as a doula, community health worker, peer supporter, lactation educator or counselor, nutritionist or dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker, home visitor, patient navigator or coordinator, or language interpreter.

(4) Postpartum. The term postpartum refers to the 1-year period beginning on the last day of the pregnancy of an individual.

(5) Pregnancy-associated death. The term pregnancy-associated death means a death of a pregnant or postpartum individual, by any cause, that occurs during, or within 1 year following, the individual’s pregnancy, regardless of the outcome, duration, or site of the pregnancy.

(6) Pregnancy-related death. The term pregnancy-related death means a death of a pregnant or postpartum individual that occurs during, or within 1 year following, the individual’s pregnancy, from a pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiologic effects of pregnancy.

(7) Racial and ethnic minority group. The term racial and ethnic minority group has the meaning given such term in section 1707(g)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g)(1)).

(8) Severe maternal morbidity. The term severe maternal morbidity means a health condition, including mental health conditions and substance use disorders, attributed to or aggravated by pregnancy or childbirth that results in significant short-term or long-term consequences to the health of the individual who was pregnant.

(9) Social determinants of maternal health. The term social determinants of maternal health means nonclinical factors that impact maternal health outcomes.