The bicameral Women Expansion for Learning and Labor Safety (WELLS) Act, which Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Ill.-02) introduced in March, would address safe discharge of laboring women and racial bias in the health care system. The WELLS Act would: Require hospitals to develop, implement, and document a Safe Labor Discharge Plan prior to discharging patients who present with signs and symptoms of labor; Require regular racial bias training and reporting of training for all recipients of funding from the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program under HHS.
Require hospitals to create safe labor discharge plans before discharging patients with signs of labor and require regular racial-bias training and reporting for HHS Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies funding recipients.
Occurrences
Evidence
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester announced she introduced maternal-health bills, including the WELLS Act. The release says the WELLS Act would require hospitals to develop, implement, and document a Safe Labor Discharge Plan before discharging patients with signs and symptoms of labor, and would require regular racial-bias training and reporting for RMOMS funding recipients.
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The Senator’s official legislation page lists S.4482, WELLS Act, with latest action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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GovInfo lists H.R. 7830 as Introduced in House, with the title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals to develop discharge plans for pregnant individuals as a condition of participation under Medicare. Last action date listed is March 5, 2026, when the bill was introduced and referred to committees.
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Rep. Kelly’s release says Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester would introduce the Senate companion bill and quotes Blunt Rochester saying the bill would require hospitals to develop and follow a Safe Discharge Labor Plan before discharging a patient with signs of labor. The release also describes racial-bias training and safe discharge plan elements.
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GovInfo lists S. 4482, the Women Expansion of Learning and Labor Safety Act, as introduced in the Senate on May 11, 2026 by Lisa Blunt Rochester; the action says it was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. The full title is to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals to develop discharge plans for pregnant individuals as a Medicare condition of participation.
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Blunt Rochester's Senate release says she introduced maternal-health bills including the WELLS Act. It says the WELLS Act would require hospitals to develop, implement, and document a Safe Labor Discharge Plan before discharging patients with signs and symptoms of labor and would require regular racial-bias training and training reporting for all HHS RMOMS funding recipients.
Assessments
Blunt Rochester introduced the WELLS Act, which closely matches the promised safe labor discharge plan requirement and RMOMS racial-bias training/reporting requirement. However, the bill's latest action was referral to the Senate Finance Committee, with no evidence that it passed or became an implemented federal requirement. This is a serious legislative attempt, but the promised outcome was not delivered.
Blunt Rochester materially advanced the promised policy by sponsoring the Senate WELLS Act, which matches the safe labor discharge plan requirement and the racial-bias training/reporting condition for RMOMS recipients. However, the bill and House companion were only introduced and referred to committee, with no evidence that the requirements became law or were implemented administratively by the assessment date. This is a serious legislative attempt, but not delivery of the promised outcome.