<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 3 of Title 32.1 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered 32.1-78.1 through 32.1-78.7, relating to Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program established; report.</p>
SB 721 establishes a Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program within the Department of Medical Assistance Services for fiscal years 2027 and 2028. The pilot is designed to improve maternal health outcomes for pregnant Medicaid recipients enrolled in participating managed care organizations by using remote patient monitoring for maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes. The program would use FDA-authorized technology to collect and transmit health data such as blood pressure, weight, and blood glucose, and would pair that technology with a remote monitoring clinical care team that can provide coaching, review readings, and coordinate with the participant’s obstetric or maternal-fetal medicine provider.
The bill limits the pilot to up to 500 eligible participants across as many localities as needed, requires devices to be delivered and preconfigured for use, and extends monitoring through pregnancy and up to three months postpartum. It also requires the Department to pay participating managed care organizations a fee of up to $500,000 to administer the program and contract with the technology vendor. Within 18 months after the first enrollment, the Department must produce a report evaluating maternal, fetal, neonatal, and cost outcomes and recommend whether the pilot should be expanded statewide.
The bill would add a new article to Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia creating a new DMAS-administered pilot program focused on remote maternal health monitoring for Medicaid enrollees. It would authorize DMAS to select managed care organizations and a technology vendor, establish operational requirements for remote monitoring, and require data collection and reporting using claims, vital statistics, and EHR/EMR data. The measure affects Medicaid managed care operations, maternal health service delivery, and potentially future appropriations if the pilot is expanded beyond the initial limited scope.
The available voting history shows strong support for the bill in committee, with unanimous 15-0 reporting from the Senate Education and Health Committee and unanimous 13-0 action in Finance and Appropriations to continue it to the next session. That pattern suggests broad agreement with the bill’s goals of improving maternal outcomes and using technology to support high-risk pregnancies, even though the measure did not advance to final enactment in the available record.
No committee transcript is available, and the recorded votes show no opposition, so there is little direct evidence of controversy in the provided materials. The main practical issues likely concern cost, administration, and implementation: the bill caps the administrative fee at $500,000, limits the pilot to 500 participants, and requires coordination among DMAS, managed care organizations, a technology vendor, and providers. The requirement to evaluate outcomes and Medicaid cost savings suggests some attention to whether the pilot is effective enough to justify broader expansion.