Name: Myka Gurule-Arensdorf Date: 1/9/23 Period: 4

Party: State: Hawaii Senate

independent

Committee Referral: Appropriations Needed:

Blank ☐Yes or ☐No (check one)

The Myka Free Pregnancy Act

219th Congress

2nd Session

SB

In the United state senate

2/14/23

A BILL

Be it enacted by the Senate OR House of Representatives of the United States of America

in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the Myka Free Pregnancy Act

SECTION 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/NEED

(1) Data shows that per year the cost of a child from birth to the age of 17 costs about 12 thousand
dollars a year. You also have a financial setback because of the time you take off during the first
few months of raising a child.
(2) Only 8% of men and 11% of women have medical debt. This medical debt is
mostly because of birth fees. Why should you have to pay for bringing a life into
the world?

(3) A regular birth costs about 16k and a surgical birth costs about 24k. Compared to now
the prices for childbirth were lower in 2015 than they are now. Back in 2015 it used to be
about 3k less than it is now.
(4) You will also have to pay out of pocket money when you give birth as well. You have to
pay 3k in out of pocket money when you are giving birth.

(5) You also aren't just paying for birth, you are paying for visits, tests, medication,
overnight stay, and birth all together. Ultrasounds cost about 500 dollars and
medication cost about 20 or more dollars.

(6) 7 out of 10 children in the US are born regularly while the other 3 out of 10 are
C-sections. If you have a risk of your health in pregnancy you have an even
higher chance of having to get a C-section. What if something suddenly changes
in your health or the baby's health and you have to get a C-section you are not
financially prepared for? That's why birth should be free so you don't have to
worry about stresses like this and just celebrate life.
(7) Most women, about 32% compared to 20% of men, put off getting medical insurance
because of the cost of it. They put this off because women still get paid less than men
and can't afford it. It costs about 1k to 2k more to give birth without medical insurance.
How are they supposed to pay for birth if they don't or can't pay for insurance.

SECTION 3. PROVISIONS - BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY

(1) Imacat insurance companies who based their making off of health care.

(2) Women of the USA who are underpaid or don't make enough benefit.

(3) Impact USA tax funds and where they go.

(4) Benefits all women who live in the USA

(5) This impacts health workers as well in the sense it's a little more work to get
documents.
SECTION 4. PROVISIONS - TERMS AND BENEFITS OF SERVICE

(1) This act will give recognition to hospitals and companies to support this Act.

(2) Free pregnancy is defined as the time you find out you are pregnant till the time
you leave the hospital after birth is free that also includes medicine and hospital
visit, after birth check ups and birth no matter how you give birth.

(3) Hospitals that do not follow this act and charge for childbirth will be charged with
false pricing/ over charging and will have the jury judge whether they should lose
their doctor license.

(4) When a patient comes in saying they are pregnant the Doctor in charge of them
must print out a letter written by them saying this patient came in on this day and
has a confirmed pregnancy and sign it and put it in records. Then after they leave
when they give birth they must write another letter saying this patient has given
birth and has stayed the required amount of time after birth to do check ups that
said they were healthy and ok to leave and signed it and put it on records.

(5) Insurance will no longer cover childbirth, childbirth will be paid by the state's
taxes. Any insurance company to go against this and cover childbirth will refund
the client immediately and if not will be taken to court for unauthorized charges
and theft.

(6) This act will cover every person who gives birth in the state of hawaii Official
resident local immigrant and it doesn't matter the race, child birth will be covered.

(7)

SECTION 5. ADMINISTRATION (Government agencies and department to execute the law once it's
passed)

The US Department of Health will set aside funds for hospitals and insurance
companies. These funds will be transferred to the National institute of Health. For
the hospitals and companies who try to refuse this act for free childbirth will have
their fate decided by the house of representatives.
SECTION 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS (Include amount of funding requested AND
rationale)

The funding that will be set aside for free birth will come out of state and
government taxes. The federal government will set aside 25% of state taxes every
month to pay for free childbirth. Taxes will be raised by 5% (in 2020 the state
collected 3.44 billion dollars in tax) now the money collected from taxes will be
raised by $172,000,000 because of this tax raise. The money made by taxes each
year now will be $3,612,000,000 because of the raise in taxes. 25% of this is
903000000. Roughly 16k people give birth every year in the state of Hawaii and that
cost $347,270,000 and with the 25% of taxes going to this it can cover any difficulties
that happen during birth and the other hospital fee like the room and medicine.

SOURCES (Provide the list of all sources used in researching the bill including name of source and
website link if online)
Source #1 CNN Business

Source #2 Bloomberg

Source #3 BBC news

Source #4 Fox News

Source #5 CDC.gov

Source #6 Hawaii Report 2019-2020