Michigan Senate passes ‘Momnibus’ legislative package on final day of Black Maternal Health Week

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—A 10-bill package to reduce racial inequities in maternal mortality in Michigan passed through the Michigan Senate Thursday, with supporters hoping that the second time will be the charm to getting the so-called “momnibus” signed into law.

The legislation, which passed with bipartisan support, had received a similar reception when it was originally introduced in April 2024, but then failed to make it across the finish line after Republican lawmakers boycotted the lame duck session in December in protest to minimum and tipped wage reforms not being placed for a vote.

The main sponsor of the package is Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), who said the legislation incorporates a variety of approaches to improve prenatal and perinatal health outcomes in Michigan.

“By dismantling systemic barriers that disproportionately impact Black and brown birthing people, the Michigan Momnibus brings us one step closer to achieving equity and justice and reproductive and obstetric care,” Geiss told her colleagues prior to the vote. “It is a multifaceted bill package that works to improve integrity and accountability in Michigan’s maternal health care system, ensuring that every family has an equitable opportunity to have a healthy, joyful pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum experience that truly centers their needs.”

The Momnibus legislative package includes:

• Senate Bill 29 mandates the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to compile annual data on racial and ethnic disparities in health care, as well as review statewide maternal deaths in order to complete a report to the legislature starting in 2026 and then continuing every three years. The department would also have to come up with a statewide plan to reduce such ethnic and racial disparities in health care.

Statistics have long corroborated disparities in maternal outcomes for women of color, with maternal mortality rates for Black women in the U.S. nearly 3.5 times the rate for non-Hispanic white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, the CDC says the rate of preterm birth among Black women is 12.34%, or about 1.5 times higher than the rate of preterm birth among white or Hispanic women, which stands at 7.64% and 8.72% respectively.

A lack of access to quality health care and educational resources are some of the reasons for the inequity, and are among the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. Known as the social determinants of health, the CDC says those factors include the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, worship, and age.

“Social determinants of health prevent many people from racial and ethnic minority groups from having fair opportunities for economic, physical, and emotional health,” said the CDC.

Geiss noted that the passage of the bills through the Senate came on the final day of Black Maternal Health Week.

“This has been a long road for the Michigan Momnibus, but by keeping the Momnibus moving, we can affirm a commitment to ensuring that healthy pregnancies and equitable care must transcend partisan racial, class, and economic divides, as every family deserves access to the care they need to thrive,” said Geiss.

The legislation was immediately referred to the Michigan House for consideration, where it was assigned to the Health Policy Committee.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.