ACOG Applauds Passage of Legislative and Funding Priorities to Invest in Maternal Health and Support the Health Care Workforce

The following statement is attributable to Steven J. Fleischman, MD, MBA, FACOG, president of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists:

"ACOG is pleased that Congress has passed a funding bill that includes the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act and continued funding for many ACOG priorities supporting women's health research, federal maternal health initiatives, the health care workforce, and patient access to preventive care. ACOG and our members have long advocated for many of the included reauthorizations and investments in this package on behalf of our colleagues and the patients we care for.

"ACOG has, for more than 25 years, advocated for support for maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) to better understand and develop effective strategies for saving the lives of mothers and improving maternal health outcomes. Reauthorizing the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act will help ensure that MMRCs have the federal support they need to continue critical efforts to eliminate preventable maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidities.

"Improving patient access to care and health care outcomes requires that we prioritize growing our health care workforce. We are pleased that with the reauthorization of the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program and the National Health Service Corps, investment in the growth of our health care workforce will help improve access to ob-gyn health care in rural and underserved communities and in communities that may be facing a shortage of physicians. This funding is critically important to ensuring that our ob-gyn workforce is prepared to care for patients across the country and for the next generation.

"In order to meet the needs of our patients, we also must support the well-being of physicians. By extending the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, we can continue investing in our colleagues who may be struggling with burnout or mental health conditions. As doctors, we devote our focus to caring for our patients, but we also need access to resources that can help us care for our colleagues and ourselves-the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act provides some of those resources.

"ACOG applauds these investments and is pleased Congress rejected proposals to drastically downsize and restructure HHS, continuing their longstanding support for federal public health infrastructure. ACOG encourages Congress to look for additional opportunities to bolster the health care workforce, invest in women's health research, and support direct services for our patients in their communities. We are committed to continuing our advocacy to improve maternal health outcomes and to improve access to obstetric and gynecologic health care for all patients."

Read more about ACOG's advocacy priorities included in this funding package.