News from the MAMA Campaign

Florida Friends of Midwives endorses the MAMA Campaign. Please read this update, including an incredible list of accomplishments in just a few short months.

What a summer this has been for Midwives and Mothers in Washington, DC! Now, as the health care bills pick up speed in Congress this fall, we need your support and your dollars more than ever. Billy Wynne, our lobbyist, wrote to us this past week: “You should feel very good about the massive education campaign you’ve undertaken and the broad support you’ve gained …now it’s crunch time!”

Just since May, the MAMA Campaign has accomplished a lot by acting quickly and effectively.
We have:

• Drafted an amendment to recognize and reimburse CPMs in Medicaid
• Hired a national health policy and lobbying firm to guide our advocacy work in DC
• Held a “fly-in” of more than twenty MAMA activists to Washington, DC, in June who met with over 30 key congress members
• Traveled to DC nearly every week since then and followed up with supporters to keep the pressure up
• Prepared a cost-analysis based on Medicaid data from a health policy study in Washington State that was submitted to the Congressional Budget Office on our behalf by Chairman Waxman’s office
• Met with 8 top Medicaid officials in Baltimore in July, an unusual opportunity for a provider group new to Capitol Hill
• Monitored and adjusted our strategy weekly as the proposed legislation twists and turns through Congress
• Secured the support of important national groups: Childbirth Connection, the National Women’s Law Center, the National Women’s Health Network, Raising Women’s Voices, Our Bodies Ourselves, the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, American Association of Birth Centers, and state midwifery and consumer groups

And we have continued to manage the campaign using the pro-bono skills and expertise of top leadership in six national midwifery and citizen organizations as well as activated superb grassroots support across the country.

Over these next weeks we will continue to have opportunities to include Certified Professional Midwives in the health care bills. However, the time is growing short and we really need your help. As Billy says, it’s crunch time!

Every step of the way you have stood behind us. Thank you! Together we have raised $100,000 for the Campaign this summer – 2/3 of our goal and a truly stunning fundraising coup for our movement! We are so grateful to you!!

Now we need your help to get across the finish line!
Will you give $10, $25, $50 or even $100 to continue our work for federal recognition of CPMs? Just click to donate.

Will you help us identify potential major donors? Write to president@nacpm.org with ideas.

And of course, be sure to keep the letters to your legislators coming – we need that “dull roar” from the states and districts to move our provision over the top! Constituents are the ones that legislators are listening to. That’s you! Find letter templates and instructions on our website.

Thank you so much! We look for to hearing from you!

Mary Lawlor, CPM
President, NACPM
National Co-Chair, MAMA Campaign

Susan Hodges
President, Citizens for Midwifery
National Co-Chair, MAMA Campaign