WHEREAS, According to the Department of Public Health’s most recent Vital Statistics Report, 23,157 babies were born in the City of Philadelphia during 2012, making pregnancy one of the City’s most common healthcare concerns; and
WHEREAS, Women who become pregnant must, under current provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), wait until their baby is born before they can enroll in a new health care plan. For many mothers, this means that they may not be able to access the care their babies require at all; and
WHEREAS, Premature births are associated with a variety future health problems, many of which can be prevented or mitigated through prenatal medical treatments, according to a 2012 letter drafted by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and
WHEREAS, A 2002 study published in the
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
found that a lack of prenatal care is associated with a 40% increase in the risk of newborn death; and
WHEREAS, Limited access to prenatal care has disproportionately affected minorities and low-income communities, according to data gathered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau in 2013; and
WHEREAS, The House Subcommittee on Health has found that a
“special enrollment period is especially important for young adults, who are at high risk for unintended pregnancies,” and who often lack proper healthcare coverage; and
WHEREAS, The outcomes of pregnancy are greatly affected by the mother’s access to healthcare and can have profound adverse effects on the health of both mother and child; and
WHEREAS, Pregnancy is not currently listed, under the provisions of the ACA, as a “major life event” which would allow for an immediate health coverage enrollment; and
WHEREAS, The Healthy MOM Act seeks to alleviate unjust disparities in health care access by providing newly-pregnant mothers with special enrollment windows for health insurance exchanges; and
WHEREAS, It is patently unjust that future mothers should have to put their health and that of their children in jeopardy because the federal government does not currently afford them their natural right to healthcare; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby
urges Congress to pass the Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act, otherwise known as the Healthy MOM Act.
End