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Sponsors pitch House Bill 7 to reduce infant and maternal mortality with targeted early‑childhood investments
Summary
Representatives White and Humphrey presented House Bill 7 (the Strong Foundations Act) in a first hearing, proposing about $34 million across FY 2024–25 for home visiting, WIC modernization, rental stabilization for pregnant mothers, Help Me Grow expansions and Medicaid diagnostic code changes to improve early childhood mental‑health billing; sponsors promised further cost‑benefit documentation.
Representatives Kelly White and Emily Humphrey told the Senate Finance Committee that House Bill 7—called the Strong Foundations Act—would target the first 1,000 days of life with programs intended to reduce infant and maternal mortality and improve early development.
"If we don't invest now, we are going to pay later," Representative White said, summarizing the bill's premise and urging strategic investment in early intervention. White cited state health rankings and racial disparities, saying Ohio ranks 41st on infant mortality and that Black infants face "almost 2.5 times higher rate…
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