GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

AMCHP’s policy and advocacy work are guided by AMCHP’s board of directors and our Legislative and Health Care Finance Committee, which is composed of AMCHP members and partners.  Our agenda specifies where we will devote our advocacy resources and highlights key policy and advocacy activities for AMCHP. 

With all that we could do to support state MCH programs and provide national leadership on issues affecting women, children, and families, we use this agenda to make explicit where we will assume leadership and partnership roles in terms of advocacy on an annual basis.

View the policy agenda

The MCH Block Grant, authorized by Title V of the Social Security Act, is the only federal program of its kind devoted solely to improving the health of all women and children in the United States. It is guided by the principles of evidence, flexibility, and results. In FY19, programs funded by the MCH Block Grant served 98% of infants, 92% of pregnant women, and 60% of children nationwide. Racial and ethnic inequities persist across several indicators, with Black infant mortality rates double the rates for white infants and the maternal mortality rate for black women being three to four times higher than the rate for white women. Title V programs work to address these inequities by increasing access to quality health care services and supports for women and children and facilitating health promotion efforts across the lifespan.

Another key component of the MCH Block Grant is the Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS). SPRANS funding complements and helps ensure the success of state Title V, Medicaid, and CHIP programs by driving innovation and building capacity to create integrated systems of care for women and children. Examples of innovative projects funded through SPRANS include:

• The State Maternal Health Innovation program 
• Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)
• Guidelines for well-child care from infancy through adolescence
• Nutrition care during pregnancy and lactation
• Recommended standards for prenatal care
• Successful strategies for the prevention of childhood injuries.

A significant portion of AMCHP’s policy and advocacy work centers on the annual federal appropriations process. Guided by our Federal Policy Agenda, AMCHP works with our members, national partners, and Congress to ensure sufficient funding for critical federal maternal and child health programs, including the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant.

Fiscal Year 2024

For the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations cycle, AMCHP led:

1. Support for funding federal maternal and child health programs
   • AMCHP Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant: Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Ask Sheet 
   • National and academic organization letter on Title V
   • Bipartisan Senate letter on Title V, Healthy Start, Safe Motherhood, and NIH
   • Bipartisan House letter on Title V, Healthy Start, Safe Motherhood, and NIH
   • Bipartisan House letter on Alliance for Innovation in Maternal Health and Rural Maternal Health
2. Support for funding the CDC Surveillance for Emerging Threat to Mothers and Babies (SET-NET) initiative:
   • National and academic organization SET-NET letter
   • Senate SET-NET letter
   • Bipartisan House SET-NET letter

Fiscal Year 2023

For the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations cycle, AMCHP led:

1. Support for funding federal maternal and child health programs:
   • National and academic organization letter on Title V
   • Bipartisan Senate letter on Title V, Healthy Start, Safe Motherhood, and NIH
   • Bipartisan House letter on Title V, Healthy Start, Safe Motherhood, and NIH
   • Bipartisan House letter on Alliance for Innovation in Maternal Health and Rural Maternal Health
   • AMCHP Board President Testifies Before House Appropriations Subcommittee on Fiscal Year 2023 Funding for Title V 
2. Support for funding the CDC Surveillance for Emerging Threat to Mothers and Babies (SET-NET) initiative:
   • National and academic organization SET-NET letter
   • Senate SET-NET letter
   • Bipartisan House SET-NET letter

Learn more about pending federal legislation to improve maternal health by searching the below table. This page will be updated regularly to track legislation through the 117th Congress. If you experience issues loading the tracker in Internet Explorer, we recommend using Chrome, FireFox or Edge. For questions, comments, or corrections, please email govtaffairs@amchp.org.

Visit the tracker

Join the AMCHP Government Affairs team to learn about the latest updates in federal maternal and child health policy and to hear from our national, federal, and state partners in the AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Hall Series! We convene the second Thursday of every month, 2-3 pm EST. Click here to register for all scheduled Town Halls.

View past AMCHP Policy & Partnerships Town Hall recordings:

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022