Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS) bill, including significant increases to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (MCH Block Grant) and other federal programs to improve maternal and child health. The bill proposes $872.7 million for the MCH Block Grant in FY23, which would be a $125 million increase compared to the final FY22 funding level of $747.7 million, although lower than the $950 million in the President’s FY23 Budget Proposal. The $872.7 million is the highest proposed investment in the MCH Block Grant included in a Congressional spending bill.
According to our reading, the $125 million proposed increase to the MCH Block Grant would be divided as a $16.6 million increase to the state formula fund and a $108.4 million increase to Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS). Proposed investments in SPRANS focus on improving both maternal and child health with a particular emphasis on eliminating racial, ethnic, and geographic inequities in health outcomes. For more information about the specific SPRANS initiatives that the budget proposes, see pages 54-58 of the FY23 L-HHS report language.
While we are encouraged by the significant increases for the MCH Block Grant for FY23 in both the House bill and the President’s Budget Proposal, AMCHP continues to urge Congress to fund the MCH Block Grant at $1 billion in FY23, including a more robust increase for the state formula fund than is currently included. The MCH Block Grant and other federal maternal and child health programs need sustained, increased investments to rebuild, recover, and best serve the nation’s maternal and child health populations now and into the future.
AMCHP’s Government Affairs Team will continue to follow the FY23 appropriations process and provide additional updates. At this time, it is unclear if or when this bill will move to the full House for a vote. In the meantime, we encourage you to review the following resources for more information about maternal and child health in the FY23 appropriations process:
- House FY23 L-HHS Bill:
- Bill text;
- Bill summary; and
- Report language (see pages 54-61 for maternal and child health).
- President’s FY23 Budget Proposal:
- FY23 Budget in Brief;
- FY23 Appendix for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and
- FY23 HRSA Congressional Justification.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Government Affairs Team with questions: Amy Haddad (ahaddad@amchp.org) and Lauren Blachowiak (lblachowiak@amchp.org).
