Legislation expands mental health, midwifery, doula offerings
(BOSTON—7/30/2024) Today the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to strengthen access to physical and mental health care for pregnant people and new parents in Massachusetts, an expansion of support systems that is intended to keep parents and newborns healthy as they are welcomed into the world.
S.2899, An Act relative to increasing access to perinatal health care, builds on and improves existing perinatal health resources across the Commonwealth, including mental health resources, midwifery, and doula services.
“Far too often, we see and hear stories that demonstrate how important it is that we act to reduce maternal health disparities and barriers to accessing safe and adequate maternal health care,” said Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “While we still have a long way to go, this legislation makes important strides towards these efforts from the moment pregnancy starts through a year after birth, while increasing access to perinatal health care with reforms to midwifery licensure and birthing centers.”
In an effort to proactively address mental health needs, the legislation requires MassHealth and commercial insurance coverage for post-pregnancy depression screenings. It also mandates the Department of Public Health (DPH) to develop and maintain a comprehensive digital resource center on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
It requires postnatal individuals receiving care from a postnatal professional to be offered a screening for post-pregnancy depression. Pediatricians will also offer screenings to postnatal individuals during infant wellness visits.
The bill allows earned sick time to be used for pregnancy loss, failed assisted-reproduction, adoption, or surrogacy. Further, it establishes a grant program to award funds to community-based organizations to address mental health conditions and substance use disorders for medically underserved perinatal individuals.
To improve access to midwifery care, the bill creates a licensure program for professional midwives to be certified by DPH. Licensed certified professional midwives will be authorized to dispense certain medications and administer necessary controlled substances under a statewide standing order to be issued by DPH. Additionally, the legislation mandates insurance coverage for services provided by certified nurse-midwives, making midwifery care more accessible and affordable.
The bill requires MassHealth to cover doula services for pregnant individuals, postpartum individuals up to 12 months following the end of pregnancy, and adoptive parents of infants until the infants reach one year of age. This provision recognizes the vital role that doulas play in supporting perinatal health and ensures that more families can benefit from their care.
Further notable provisions of the legislation include:
- Requiring DPH to create regulations for the operation and maintenance of birth centers licensed as freestanding birth centers.
- Codifying and expanding access to the DPH universal postpartum home visiting program.
- Prohibiting the administration of ultrasound services unless supervised by a licensed healthcare professional providing medical care for pregnant individuals.
- Changing the frequency of covered pediatrician wellness visits from annually to once per calendar year.
A previous version of this bill having passed the House of Representatives, the two branches will now reconcile the differences between the bills, before sending a version to the Governor’s desk.
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