A Democratic bill with 4 Republican cosponsors · See all 7 cosponsors
Last activity — Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 525.
Cleared committee, waiting for its first floor vote
A committee approved it and it is on the calendar of the chamber it started in.
This is further than most bills get, and still no promise of a vote: the calendar is a queue, and the majority leadership decides what is called. A bill can sit here until the Congress ends.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- On Calendar
What this bill would do
The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act aims to improve emergency obstetric care in rural areas. The bill focuses on developing evidence-based training programs for practitioners in facilities without dedicated obstetric units. It establishes a program to fund equipment, supplies, and workforce capacity for managing obstetric emergencies. Additionally, the legislation creates a pilot program for teleconsultation to provide urgent maternal health support. The bill also mandates a study to map maternity ward closures and regional patient transport patterns.
Yes· 3 of 5
- Scored +8
Would women be better off under this?
The bill specifically aims to improve emergency obstetric and maternal health care services.
- Scored +8
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?
The legislation provides targeted funding for obstetric training and telehealth in rural settings.
- Scored +7
Does this make health care easier to get in general?
The bill funds training and telehealth to improve emergency obstetric care access in rural areas.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Improved Emergency Care in Rural Areas: The bill establishes an evidence-sased program to train practitioners in rural facilities without dedicated obstetric units to provide emergency services during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the postpartum period (Section 2).
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Enhanced Training for Specific Conditions: Practitioners will receive training on how to prepare for, identify, stabilize, and safely transfer women experiencing conditions such as obstetric hemorrhage, severe hypertension, cardiac conditions, perinatal mental health conditions, substance use, or sepsis (Section 2).
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Increased Workforce Capacity: Grants can be used to hire additional personnel or pay salaries to support obstetric services (Section 3, subsection b, paragraph 4).
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Improved Access via Telehealth: The pilot program supports the development of statewide or regional maternal health care telehealth access programs to provide urgent support to rural non-obstetric settings (Section 4, subsection a).
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Better Coordination of Care: Funding is available to develop protocols for the transfer of patients to other facilities and engagement with networks (Section 3, subsection b, paragraph 3).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts or burdens are explicitly identified within the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The legislation provides targeted funding for obstetric training and telehealth in rural settings. Would women be better off under this? — The bill specifically aims to improve emergency obstetric and maternal health care services. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Improving rural healthcare infrastructure benefits low-income residents in those areas.
- Healthcare
- Does this make health care easier to get in general? — The bill funds training and telehealth to improve emergency obstetric care access in rural areas.
- Education And Technology
- Does this get reliable internet to more people? — The bill supports the development of maternal health care telehealth access programs.
- 7/28/2026
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Cassidy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 525.
- 7/22/2026
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- 3/19/2026
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.
- 4/3/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 4/1/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 2/13/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 2/4/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 3 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Katie BrittRepublican · Alabama
Maria CantwellDemocrat · Washington
Susan CollinsRepublican · Maine
Shelley CapitoRepublican · West Virginia
Christopher CoonsDemocrat · Delaware
James JusticeRepublican · West Virginia
Tina SmithDemocrat · Minnesota