Congress orders study of why Medicaid won't cover pregnancy monitoring devices
S. 141 — Connected MOM Act · Filed by Bill Cassidy (R-LA) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 16, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the federal government to study why state Medicaid programs don't consistently cover remote health-monitoring devices (like pulse oximeters and blood pressure cuffs) for pregnant and postpartum women, and to recommend fixes. Within 18 months, HHS must report to Congress on barriers to coverage; within 6 months after that, HHS must update state guidance to align with those recommendations. No new money is appropriated; no mandate is imposed on states.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a directive for federal study and guidance-updating, not a direct appropriation or mandate. Its functional purpose is to identify and address coverage barriers for remote monitoring devices in state Medicaid programs serving pregnant and postpartum women.
What the text implies
- Device manufacturers (pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff, glucose monitor makers) may benefit indirectly if HHS recommendations lead states to expand coverage, increasing demand and market size.
- The bill does not mandate state adoption of recommendations, so actual coverage expansion depends on state discretion and budget capacity — federal guidance alone may not overcome state fiscal constraints.
- Remote monitoring devices may improve early detection of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and postpartum complications, reducing emergency interventions and hospitalizations — a potential cost offset to Medicaid programs.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Pregnant and postpartum women on Medicaid stand to benefit from improved access to remote monitoring devices that can detect complications early and improve health outcomes. The bill removes informational and guidance barriers without imposing costs on beneficiaries or restricting existing coverage.
Who stands to gain
- remote monitoring device manufacturers (pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors, scales, glucose mo
- telehealth platforms and service providers (if coverage expansion includes remote monitoring service
Named in the bill
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), State Medicaid programs, pregnant and postpartum women, remote physiologic monitoring device manufacturers
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jan 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 16, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
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 5 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Jun 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,015,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 19 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.
Bill Cassidy, the sponsor, reported $1,329,254 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Alzheimer's Association — $1,790,000 on 1 filing
- Massachusetts Medical Society — $90,000 on 2 filings
- American Seniors Housing Association — $75,000 on 1 filing
- Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. — $60,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,297 characters) on Aug 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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