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CPM Bill to Be Introduced in Congress this Week
Childbearing women will soon be one step closer
to guaranteed access to CPM services!
NACPM has exciting news to share from the Midwives and Mothers in Action (MAMA) Campaign: We are very pleased to announce that a bill to amend the Social Security Act to mandate reimbursement for all CPM services for women insured by Medicaid will be introduced in the House of Representatives this week!
 NACPM and MAMA are very grateful to Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01) for stepping forward to increase low-income women's access to high-value maternity care by introducing this important piece of legislation. NACPM and MAMA will announce the bill number just as soon as it available. Introduction in the 111th Congress this year will give our bill an important advantage for re-introduction when the 112th Congress is seated in January 2011.
NACPM President and Policy Analyst, Mary Lawlor, will be in Washington, D.C. this week on behalf of the MAMA Campaign to work with Rep. Pingree's staff, Billy Wynne, MAMA Campaign lobbyist, and supportive offices on the Hill on the introduction of this exciting legislation.
Your support was crucial! In this season of Thanksgiving we want to thank all of NACPM's members who have written letters to your legislators and contributed unprecedented dollars. Your support - combined with non-stop MAMA Campaign advocacy on the Hill over the past year and a half - have made this milestone possible. Thank you!!
Your continued help will guarantee our success. We know that introduction of the CPM bill is an essential first step - a signal that the real work is just beginning. As soon as the 112th Congress convenes in January, 2011, and the CPM bill is reintroduced, MAMA will reach out to you to petition your legislators to become co-sponsors on this important piece of legislation. Your timely help will be essential! Watch for MAMA updates early in the New Year.
What YOU can do now:
- If you have not done so already, sign up at www.mamacampaign.org for updates and support for reaching out to your legislators. This is an easy, fast and cost-free way for you to support MAMA.
- Strongly encourage your friends, family, clients, colleagues, state association members, and Facebook friends to sign up for updates at www.mamacampaign.org. Spread the word that momentum is building for access to CPMs. MAMA needs everyone's help to build her network of connections.
- Make a contribution to MAMA: MAMA needs your help now to raise the funds necessary to propel the CPM bill forward. Encourage everyone you know to contribute to MAMA. Over the past 1-½ years you helped MAMA raise unprecedented dollars for this cause - over $180,000. Now we've got our foot in the Congressional door but it is only through your continuing support that MAMA will be successful. Make a contribution today at www.mamacampaign.org! We will put your contribution to work for midwives and mothers.
While MAMA has quietly been at work on the new CPM bill, she has also been working for you on the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed in March 2010 which mandates Medicaid reimbursement of all licensed providers working in licensed birth centers. Again we extend our thanks to Senator Cantwell for "getting the ball rolling for CPMs" by insuring that licensed CPMs practicing in licensed birth centers will have their provider fee reimbursed by Medicaid.
MAMA meets with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This past summer, MAMA representatives, Mary Lawlor, Ida Darragh, Jo Anne Myers-Ciecko and Katie Pahner from Health Policy Source, met with CMS staff at their headquarters in Baltimore. In a dynamic working meeting, MAMA provided CMS with information and technical assistance about CPMs and their work in birth centers. Through Health Policy Source, MAMA has continued to interact with CMS as they prepare their letter of guidance that will soon go out to all State Medicaid Directors to implement this important provision.
MAMA stands prepared to support the midwives in the states as they work with their state Medicaid officials to implement this provision, as well as the birth center facility fee reimbursement mandate as it relates to CPM birth centers. Through Health Policy Source, MAMA will have continued access to CMS for clarification of issues that may arise during state implementation. Please contact Mary Lawlor at president@nacpm.org for information and help.
Watch for a new and improved MAMA Campaign in 2011! MAMA will have a fresh, dynamic new "look" and a new web platform will make it easier than ever for you to contact your legislators and support the passage of the CPM bill.
Please work for MAMA as she works for you!
We hope you and your families shared a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday together.
With very best wishes,
The NACPM Board of Directors |
