Federal grants expand midwife training in rural, underserved areas

What it does

This bill authorizes $35 million in federal grants over five years (2026–2030) to expand midwifery education: $15 million for standalone midwifery schools and programs, and $20 million for nurse-midwifery programs within schools of nursing. Grants prioritize institutions serving rural and economically disadvantaged students, with preference for programs training midwives to work in underserved areas. The bill aims to increase the supply of midwives to address maternity care shortages.

Why we flagged it

The bill is a straightforward federal education grant program designed to increase the supply of midwives in underserved areas. It is a public-health workforce development measure with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.

What the text implies

• Restriction in section 2(c) explicitly prohibits grants to midwifery programs housed within schools of nursing, creating a structural separation between midwifery and nursing education that may fragment workforce training and limit cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• The 50/25/25 allocation formula (50% direct student support, 25% program expansion, 25% preceptor support) is fixed by statute, removing flexibility for the Secretary to adjust funding based on evolving workforce needs or regional variation.
• Priority for health professional shortage areas (HPSA) may concentrate midwife training in rural regions but does not guarantee rural practice post-graduation; loan forgiveness or service-commitment mechanisms are absent, creating a risk that trained midwives relocate to urban markets.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill directly expands access to maternity care in underserved rural and economically disadvantaged communities by funding midwife training. Midwives are a lower-cost, evidence-supported alternative to physician-only maternity care, and the bill's priority structure ensures training reaches populations with the greatest need.

Who stands to gain

• institutions of higher education offering midwifery programs
• schools of nursing with nurse-midwifery programs
• students in accredited midwifery and nurse-midwifery programs

Named in the bill

Department of Health and Human Services (Secretary), institutions of higher education, schools of nursing, accredited midwifery schools and programs, accredited nurse-midwifery programs, health professional shortage areas (HPSA)

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.

• Dec 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Dec 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $589,067 in lobbying spend. A filing names 62 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Ashley Hinson, the sponsor, reported $963,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Association of Nurse Practitioners — $400,000 on 1 filing
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing — $90,000 on 1 filing
• Center for Reproductive Rights — $70,000 on 1 filing
• National League for Nursing — $29,067 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.