The proposed legislation, known as "The Rhode Island Maternal Health Improvement and Equity Act of 2026," aims to establish permanent statewide support for maternal health and to implement a strategic plan to improve maternal health care and access. This act is initiated in response to the disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality that persist in Rhode Island, particularly among racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic groups. It is supported by a five-year federal Maternal Health Innovation grant awarded to the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) beginning in 2023.

Key components of the act include the creation of a maternal health advisory board to oversee the implementation of the maternal health strategic plan, which will consist of seven members appointed by the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives. The advisory board will have various duties, including making recommendations for improvements in maternal care access and outcomes, reviewing statewide maternal data and disparities, and advising the department on developing a maternal health data and surveillance unit.

The act also mandates the establishment of a maternal health workforce development program to expand training pathways for midwives, community birth workers, and doulas, and to support bilingual and culturally concordant workforce pipelines. Additionally, it provides for competitive community-based maternal health access grants to enhance local support services, such as prenatal navigation services and programs addressing postpartum mental health.

The department will be responsible for developing and maintaining a maternal health data and surveillance unit to monitor maternal morbidity and mortality, integrating data on social and environmental determinants, and providing annual reports on maternal health outcomes. The act emphasizes the importance of sustaining maternal health initiatives beyond the expiration of the federal grant and requires the department to submit a maternal health sustainability plan in its budget request starting in FY 2029. The legislation will take effect upon passage.