Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Requires the Secretary of Defense to begin a five-year pilot making services from certified midwives available to TRICARE beneficiaries within one year of enactment. The Secretary must report an implementation plan within 180 days and annual evaluations on costs, demographics, outcomes, access, satisfaction, and recommendations.
Liberals emphasize maternal health equity and expanded access
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill sets a clear operational objective and strong measurement/oversight structure for a five-year pilot to add midwife services to TRICARE, but leaves key implementation and resourcing mechanics unspecified.
Requires the Secretary of Defense to begin a five-year pilot making services from certified midwives available to TRICARE beneficiaries within one year of enactment.
The Secretary must report an implementation plan within 180 days and annual evaluations on costs, demographics, outcomes, access, satisfaction, and recommendations.
If the pilot is successful, the Secretary may adopt regulations to make midwife services permanent under TRICARE.
Narrow, administratively focused military health pilot has bipartisan potential, but uncertain funding and competing legislative priorities reduce near-term odds.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill sets a clear operational objective and strong measurement/oversight structure for a five-year pilot to add midwife services to TRICARE, but leaves key implementation and resourcing mechanics unspecified.
Liberals emphasize maternal health equity and expanded access
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Liberals emphasize maternal health equity and expanded access
Generally supportive; sees the pilot as a targeted federal step to expand maternal care access and reduce disparities among service members.
Values the bill's reporting requirements and data collection on race, outcomes, and access.
Will want strong implementation to ensure equitable access across ranks, locations, and demographics.
Cautiously positive: a limited pilot with clear reporting is a pragmatic approach to test midwife integration into TRICARE.
Would judge final support by cost-effectiveness, safety metrics, and whether the pilot disrupts existing military medical operations.
Sees value in evidence before wider adoption.
Skeptical but not uniformly opposed: a time-limited pilot is more acceptable than an open-ended program.
Main concerns are Defense budget impact, federal expansion into new service categories, safety standards, and credentialing scope.
May accept pilot only with strict safeguards.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Narrow, administratively focused military health pilot has bipartisan potential, but uncertain funding and competing legislative priorities reduce near-term odds.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Liberals emphasize maternal health equity and expanded access
Narrow, administratively focused military health pilot has bipartisan potential, but uncertain funding and competing legislative priorities…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill sets a clear operational objective and strong measurement/oversight structure for a five-year pilot to add midwife services to TRICARE, but leaves key implementation…
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