ACNM is actively advocating for the passage of the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 3593 / S. 1874) to reauthorize critical programs that help educate and train midwifery students (e.g., MatCare) through FY2030. This legislation is crucial for funding nursing education, practice, recruitment, and retention programs across the country and addresses the growing demand for nurses and midwives.
Title VIII is the primary source of federal funding for nursing and midwifery education in the U.S. The programs under Title VIII directly invest in our nation’s health by addressing specific needs within the nursing workforce pipeline and America’s patient population. Specifically, these programs provide targeted support for institutions that educate nurses for practice in rural and medically underserved communities, bolstering nursing education at all levels, from entry-level to graduate study.
Many ACME accredited midwifery programs that educate and train nurse-midwifery students throughout the nation receive direct support through Title VIII programs. This support assists with efforts to train future certified nurse-midwives and work to directly address our nation's maternity and primary care needs. For example, HRSA’s Maternity Care Nursing Workforce Expansion Program (MatCare) was specifically developed within Title VIII to increase the number of certified nurse-midwives and diversify the maternal and perinatal health workforce, expand maternal health training and enhance curriculum, and strengthen community-based training partnerships. This program is funded under Title VIII and therefore ensuring reauthorization is critical to increasing the number of midwives in the US.
The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act is bipartisan/bicameral legislation co-led by Representatives Dave Joyce (OH-14), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jen Kiggans (VA-02), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) in the House and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) also introduced companion legislation in the Senate.