November 20, 2025

Congresswoman Watson Coleman, Senator Alsobrooks Reintroduce the Healthy MOM Act to Add Special Enrollment Period for Pregnant Mothers

Bill Would also Ensure Comprehensive Coverage of Maternity Care for Dependent Children and Guarantee 12 Months of Continuous Medicaid Eligibility for Postpartum Women

Today, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) announced the reintroduction of legislation to expand healthcare options for expectant mothers. The bill, the Healthy Maternal and Obstetric Medicine (Healthy MOM) Act, would ensure that all women eligible for coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance marketplaces, as well as women eligible for other individual or group health plan coverage, can access affordable health coverage throughout their pregnancies. The bill would do this by establishing a special enrollment period (SEP) for expectant mothers. Right now, marriage, divorce, having a baby, adoption, and changing jobs are considered qualifying life events that trigger a special enrollment period. However, becoming pregnant is not considered a qualifying event.

U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland is reintroducing a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

Research has widely shown that prenatal care leads to healthier mothers and babies, and such care comes with the burden of high out-of-pocket costs without access to the appropriate health insurance. The maternal mortality rate in the United States is the worst among comparable industrialized countries. The Healthy MOM Act will allow women to sign up for or change their coverage when they become pregnant, rather than needing to wait for the birth of their child or the annual enrollment period. The bill would also guarantee 12 months of continuous Medicaid eligibility for postpartum women, thus removing key barriers that often prevent mothers from getting the care they need in the vulnerable months after birth.

“Events like the birth or adoption of a child, marriage, divorce, or even moving to a new state all trigger a special window to get or change your health insurance. Meanwhile, pregnancy, one of the most life-altering events a mother can experience, doesn’t,” said Watson Coleman. “We’re dealing with maternal mortality rates that are, in some places and among some groups, worse than developing nations. It is inexcusable that the United States, the wealthiest nation on Earth, has such a high maternal mortality rate. Ensuring every woman can access the care she needs during pregnancy and in the critical months following birth is a vital part of ending this crisis. This is a simple, logical way to make sure that happens.”

“We have a responsibility to ensure pregnant women have access to the best health care. The Healthy MOM Act would trigger a special enrollment period so expectant mothers can get critical health care coverage for themselves and their baby, building on the example of my own state of Maryland. As Republicans try to rip away health care from Americans, including mothers, I’m proud to fight back and partner with Congresswoman Watson Coleman to expand access to affordable care for new mothers,” said Senator Alsobrooks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 669 women died in 2023 from pregnancy related causes in the United States. Black women had a pregnancy-related mortality rate of 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 3.5 to 5 times higher than rates for White (14.5), Hispanic (12.4), and Asian (10.7) women. The Healthy MOM Act will work to improve these outcomes by expanding quality access to care, which data demonstrates could help prevent three-in-five pregnancy-related deaths. This bill is being reintroduced at a crucial time, as Republicans step up their efforts to restrict access to quality, affordable healthcare and insurance premiums are expected to rise by as much as 200% for some on the ACA marketplace.

 

Specifically, the Healthy MOM Act would:

  • Create a special enrollment period (SEP) in the ACA marketplaces and other commercial insurance plans for pregnant individuals once pregnancy is reported, so that they can enroll in or change their healthcare plan;

  • Enable the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to establish a special enrollment period for pregnancy, for those eligible to receive coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and clarify that the enrollment shall be available for families even during a lapse in appropriation or government shutdown;

  • Ensure comprehensive coverage of maternity care – including labor and delivery – for dependent children covered by group health plans and other forms of employer-sponsored coverage;

  • Protect against threats to Medicaid income eligibility and maintain the highest standard of care for low-income pregnant individuals and infants, and

  • Guarantee12-months of continuous Medicaid eligibility for postpartum women.

 

“The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) enthusiastically endorses the Healthy Maternal and Obstetric Medicine Act introduced by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks,” said SMFM President Sindhu K. Srinivas, MD, MSCE. “Ensuring access to quality, affordable prenatal and postpartum care through expanding health insurance coverage is vital to improving maternal and infant health and lowering the unacceptably high maternal mortality rate in the U.S.”

“Pregnancy is a life-altering event in which women must have the ability to change their health insurance to ensure coverage for appropriate medical care at a time when their healthcare needs are rapidly shifting,” said Nima Sheth M.D., MPH, Vice President of Health Justice at The National Partnership of Women and Families. “The Healthy Maternal and Obstetric Medicine (Healthy MOM) Act would give women that potentially life-saving coverage by establishing pregnancy as a qualifying life event­­­­ -like marriage, the birth of a baby, and changing jobs- that are all currently eligible for a special enrollment period. In a country where our maternal mortality rates are higher than any other high-income nation, access to quality healthcare during pregnancy is of critical importance. This bill is pivotal to the health of women and their families.”

Rep. Watson Coleman first authored the Healthy MOM Act in 2015. House Cosponsors include Andre Carson (IN-07), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), and Eric Swalwell (CA-14).

The Healthy MOM Act is endorsed by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, National Partnership for Women and Families, MomsRising, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the March of Dimes.


The bill text for the Healthy MOM Act can be found here.