Milwaukee Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore is pushing new legislation to remove financial barriers that prevent pregnant and postpartum women from accessing mental health care.
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Moore recently introduced the MAMA Act, which would eliminate co-pays for mental health services for pregnant women and new mothers for up to one year after giving birth. The legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin, would apply to both public and private insurance plans.
https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5828
"We have one of the highest maternal and infant mortality, maternal mortality rates in the world among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD countries," Moore said during an interview with TMJ4's Charles Benson. "And it's an embarrassment, but 20% of those deaths occur because of substance abuse, because of mental health issues."
The congresswoman emphasized that mental health-related deaths represent a significant portion of maternal mortality statistics that cannot be ignored.
Watch: Proposed bill introduced in Congress would eliminate mental health co-pays for pregnant women
"Yes, women are dying because they are having problems related to gestational diseases, but they're dying because of mental health, 20%," Moore said. "That's a huge number."
Moore acknowledged that eliminating co-pays won't solve all problems but represents an important step toward improving access to care.
"Any sort of co-pay is a barrier to healthcare," Moore said. "This is not a panacea, Charles, but we just want to take down one of the barriers toward women being able to get help."
The legislation comes as advocates and lawmakers point to troubling data showing the United States lags behind other developed nations in maternal health outcomes, with mental health and substance abuse issues contributing to preventable deaths.
This story was reported by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
