Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act

This bill creates and expands federal grant programs within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to increase capacity to provide emergency obstetric health services in rural areas or areas without practitioners or facilities specializing in obstetric services.

Specifically, HRSA must establish a program for providing grants to certain hospitals or consortiums that include hospitals in rural areas or areas with maternal health care professional shortages for training, developing a workforce, and purchasing equipment relating to obstetric emergencies. In addition, the bill requires HRSA’s Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Capacity program to provide grants for training on emergency obstetric services for practitioners in rural health care facilities without dedicated obstetric units. HRSA must also establish a pilot program to provide grants to government entities for developing or improving telehealth access programs to support urgent maternal health care in rural facilities without a dedicated obstetric unit.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.