S-5515 — CARE for Moms Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Your MoneyCivil LibertiesTransparency & AccountabilityTargeted & Unrelated Provisions

New moms on Medicaid would keep full coverage for a year in every state, and the federal cigarette tax would double

Your Money

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

Today each state picks whether new moms keep Medicaid or CHIP for a year after birth. If not, it ends about two months after. 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 and CHIP — pregnancy through 1 year after

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

WIC food aid for new moms — up to 2 years, state option

WIC gives food help to low-income moms and young kids. Today a state can enroll a breastfeeding mom for up to one year. The bill would let a state enroll any new mom for two years after birth.

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 for a pack of 20. It would start the month after the bill became law.

Snuff, chew, and pipe tobacco taxes — over 17 times higher

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

Small cigar and roll-your-own tobacco taxes — doubled

Small cigars would go from $50.33 to $100.66 per thousand. Roll-your-own tobacco would go from $24.78 to $49.56 a pound. Some processed tobacco sold to people without a federal permit would be taxed the same way.

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 FDA tobacco products — set to match cigarettes

Some items count as tobacco under FDA rules but have no federal 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 amounts — rise with inflation every year

Starting in 2027, every federal tobacco tax amount would go up each year with inflation, measured from 2025. Amounts would round up to the next cent.

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

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

Civil Liberties

Mobile clinic patients' personal data — kept from police

States could get five-year grants for mobile clinics that care for pregnant women in rural areas. To get the money, a state must promise not to give federal or state police any data that names a patient. State reports could not name patients either.

Transparency & Accountability

Notice before a hospital closes its maternity unit — 90 days

A hospital in Medicare would have to tell 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 increases 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, every state would have to keep your full coverage for 12 months after birth. Today each state chooses. In states that do not, coverage ends about two months after the birth. Medicaid and CHIP would also have to cover your dental care while pregnant and for a year after. That includes checkups, cleanings, gum care, and fillings. Both 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 in federal tax. The 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. Large cigars would be taxed by weight, with no top limit per cigar. Nicotine pouches, lozenges, and similar items would be taxed about 10 cents each. Other tobacco products the FDA oversees would be taxed like cigarettes, per use. After 2026, these tax amounts would rise with inflation each year. Most new rates would start the month after the bill became law. Sellers would also owe the extra 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 in Medicare would have to warn federal health officials 90 days before closing a maternity unit. Washington would pay 90 percent of Medicaid costs for birth and women's health care at rural hospitals. The bill would fund state teams that work to make birth care safer, up to $250,000 each a year. It would give $50 million to train more doulas (trained helpers who support women through birth). States could get grants for mobile clinics that serve pregnant women in rural areas. Those states would have to promise not to share patients' personal data with police. A new program would also teach health workers about bias and respectful care.

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: Senate
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in Senate
Action Date: 2026-09-24
Date Added: 2026-10-17
Source: Congress.gov →

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