State legislative sessions are well underway and there are lots of opportunities to increase awareness of and access to midwifery in your community. ACNM Government Affairs is your partner in state advocacy efforts. When we work together, we are unstoppable! Contact us at swertman@ACNM.org or akohl@ACNM.org.

In 2021, we saw CMs get licensed in DC, Maryland, AND Virginia! We also saw laws passed for more practice authority in Virginia, Medicaid reimbursement equity in Connecticut, midwifery led-birth centers in New York, funding for midwifery education in California, and birth center funding in Illinois. Advocacy campaigns for our legislative priorities, including health equity and addressing the national maternal health crisis, continue in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state, and Wisconsin.

We’ve already hit the ground running in 2022, with new bills introduced in Florida, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Is your state affiliate involved in increasing access to midwifery? Please let us know.
We can help:
• Through partnership with state affiliate leaders and the volunteers of our four core national committees, we work on strategies that will remove practice restrictions, strengthen, and diversify the midwifery workforce and improve access to midwifery.

• Contact Advocacy and Government Affairs:
o when you identify an advocacy need
o If your affiliate is exploring legislative solutions to address practice/access challenges
o When you are planning a campaign
o When issues arise
o When things happen: bills introduced, testimony, meetings, coalitions, hiring lobbyists

We can help with:
• Strategy development
• Hiring and evaluating lobbyists
• Landscape assessment
• Bill language, drafting, and negotiation advice
• Coalition building assistance
• Letter writing
• Campaign development
• Testimony coaching
• Talking points and other communication development
• Alignment of state-level policy change with ACNM positions and strategic goals
• Leverage relationships with other national organizations for state-level assistance
• Activation of ACNM’s grassroots alert system to assist in state efforts