Senate subcommittee advances maternal‑health, local health district and foster‑youth housing bills; one deferred

The Senate Health and Human Resources subcommittee in Richmond advanced multiple measures on maternal health, local public health and housing for youth leaving foster care and deferred one bill for further budget review.

A subcommittee member described Senate Bill 758 as expanding remote patient monitoring to all pregnant and postpartum women on Medicaid, saying maternal mortality has risen sharply and “this legislation will allow providers to appropriately determine whether patients are high risk and need additional care and services.” The panel voted to recommend SB 758 for reporting to the full committee.

The panel also considered Senate Bill 831, which would direct the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to seek federal authority to implement presumptive eligibility for pregnant individuals. A member asked about language in…