Federal programs help pregnant women; tobacco tax pays for it.
S. 5515 — CARE for Moms Act · Filed by Richard Durbin (D-IL) · Introduced Sep 24, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill sets up federal programs to lower deaths in pregnant women. It also lowers serious illness in pregnant women. It expands Medicaid and CHIP for pregnant women. It covers women up to 12 months after birth, with dental care. It funds training for doctors and nurses on bias. It pays for doulas and mobile health units in rural areas. It requires hospitals to tell the public before closing birth units. Tobacco taxes go up to pay for all this.
Who it affects
Pregnant women and women after birth get more health care and services. Doulas, rural hospitals, and health centers get money to train workers. States get grants to improve maternal health.
One thing to notice
The bill pays for care up to 12 months after birth instead of 60 days. This costs more money over time. Tobacco taxes may cost more for lower-income smokers. Some of these smokers are pregnant women the bill helps.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Sep 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 24, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S4998-5003)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Medicaid and CHIP — federal health insurance programs for low-income people and children
- doula — a trained person who helps a woman during pregnancy and birth
- bias — unfair treatment of a person or group based on who they are
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (50,094 characters) on Oct 6, 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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