HR-6303 — CARE for Moms Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Your MoneyCivil LibertiesTransparency & AccountabilityTargeted & Unrelated Provisions

Medicaid would cover new moms for a full year after birth in every state — and the federal cigarette tax would double

Your Money

Medicaid for new moms — a full year after birth, every state

Today, each state picks whether new moms keep Medicaid or CHIP for a year. If not, it ends about two months after birth. Every state would have to give the full year, with full benefits, starting about a year after the bill became law.

Dental care on Medicaid — during pregnancy and one year after

Medicaid and CHIP would have to cover dental care while you are pregnant and for one year after. That means checkups, tests, gum care, and repairs. It would start about a year after the bill became law.

WIC food aid for new moms — up to 2 years, state's choice

WIC gives food help to low-income moms and young kids. A state could choose to keep a new mom signed up for up to two years after birth. Today the limit for breastfeeding moms is one year.

Federal cigarette tax — doubles to about $2.01 a pack

The federal tax on regular cigarettes would rise from $50.33 to $100.66 per thousand. That is about $1.01 more per pack of 20, starting the month after the bill became law.

Taxes on snuff, chew, and pipe tobacco — over 17 times higher

Snuff would go from $1.51 to $26.84 a pound, and chewing tobacco from about 50 cents to $10.74 a pound. Pipe tobacco would go from about $2.83 to $49.56 a pound.

Taxes on small cigars and roll-your-own tobacco — doubled

Small cigars would go from $50.33 to $100.66 per thousand, and roll-your-own tobacco from $24.78 to $49.56 a pound. Large cigars would switch to $49.56 a pound, at least about 10 cents each, with no top limit.

New tax on nicotine pouches and lozenges — about 10 cents each

Pouches, lozenges, tablets, and strips made from tobacco or nicotine would be taxed at $100.66 per thousand. This would start six months after the bill became law.

Tax on other tobacco products — set to match cigarettes per use

Some products count as tobacco under FDA rules but have no tobacco tax today. They would be taxed like cigarettes, per use. The Treasury would set each rate, and the tax would start once that rule is final.

Tobacco tax rates — rise with inflation every year

Starting the year after 2025, every tobacco tax amount would go up each year by the rate of inflation. The base year for the change would be 2024.

States' power to tighten pregnancy Medicaid rules — for 5 years

For five years after the bill became law, a state could not make Medicaid or CHIP rules for pregnant women stricter than they were that day. A state that did would lose federal Medicaid money.

Civil Liberties

Privacy for mobile-clinic patients — no data shared with police

Some states would get grants for mobile clinics that care for pregnant women in rural areas. To get the money, a state must promise not to give police any data that names a patient. Its reports could not name patients either.

Transparency & Accountability

Hospital notice before closing a maternity unit — 90 days

A hospital in Medicare would have to warn federal health officials at least 90 days before it closes a maternity unit. The notice must say how the closing would affect the area and how the hospital would help fill gaps. This would start 180 days after the bill became law.

Targeted & Unrelated Provisions

Tobacco tax hikes inside a maternal health bill — Section 8

The bill's name is about moms' health. But Section 8 raises federal taxes on cigarettes, cigars, chew, and other nicotine goods. The bill does not say the tax money would go to its health programs.

More about this bill

If you get Medicaid or CHIP while pregnant, your full coverage would last 12 months after the birth in every state. Today each state decides whether to cover new moms for a year or end coverage about two months after birth. Your dental care would also be covered while pregnant and for a year after. That means checkups, cleanings, gum care, and repairs like fillings. These changes would start about a year after the bill became law. For five years, states could not make it harder for pregnant women to qualify. Washington would pay the full cost of the added months for five years, then 90 percent. If you smoke or use other tobacco, you would pay more. The federal tax on a pack of cigarettes would double, from about $1.01 to about $2.01. Taxes on snuff, chewing tobacco, and pipe tobacco would rise more than 17 times. Small cigars and roll-your-own tobacco would be taxed twice as much. Nicotine pouches and lozenges would be taxed about 10 cents each. After that, all tobacco tax rates would rise with inflation each year. Most new rates would start the month after the bill became law. Sellers would also pay the higher tax on stock they already hold, minus a $1,000 credit. Some new moms could stay on WIC food aid for up to two years after birth, if their state chooses. Hospitals would have to tell federal health officials 90 days before closing a maternity unit. Washington would cover 90 percent of Medicaid costs for birth and women's care at rural hospitals. The bill would also fund state teams that improve care for moms and babies, up to $35 million a year. It would add $50 million to train more doulas (trained helpers who support women through birth). Rural states could get grants for mobile clinics that serve pregnant women. Those states could not give patients' personal data to police.

Congressional Summary

Community Access, Resources, and Empowerment for Moms Act or the CARE for Moms Act This bill establishes and expands federal programs to increase access to health care for pregnant and postpartum women, particularly those in underserved communities. It also increases and expands excise taxes on tobacco products. The bill requires state Medicaid programs and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover women for 12 months postpartum and to cover dental services for pregnant and postpartum women The bill also allows for two years of postpartum coverage for women under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Also, the bill establishes grant programs for state-based collaboratives to improve perinatal health care, mobile health units for obstetric care in rural and underserved communities, the doula workforce, and regional centers of excellence to educate health professionals on implicit bias and culturally competent care. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must publish information on Medicaid and CHIP benefits for pregnant and postpartum women and report to Congress on maternal health needs and expenditures. In addition, hospitals, as a condition of Medicare participation, must notify HHS at least 90 days before closing an obstetric unit. Additionally, the bill increases existing excise taxes on cigarettes, equalizes tax rates among all other tobacco products, and establishes annual inflation adjustments. It also establishes new excise taxes for other tobacco products deemed as such by the Food and Drug Administration that are not already subject to such federal taxes.

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in House
Action Date: 2025-11-25
Date Added: 2026-10-07
Source: Congress.gov →

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