Malden legislators support passage of comprehensive maternal health legislation

On August 15, 2024, State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Paul Donato, Steve Ultrino and Kate Lipper-Garabedian joined their colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to enact An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options. This comprehensive maternal health bill creates a state licensure pathway for midwives and lactation consultants, encourages the creation of more freestanding birth centers, establishes a grant program to address maternal mental health and substance use disorder and expands the statewide universal postpartum home visiting program. This legislation also mandates that health insurers provide coverage for postpartum depression and major depressive disorder screenings for perinatal individuals. On August 23 the bill was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey as Chapter 186 of the Acts of 2024.

“Access to affordable, high-quality healthcare should be a basic human right and even in Massachusetts there is more we can and must do to improve healthcare,” said Senator Lewis. “This important legislation will significantly improve access to care and reduce racial disparities for new mothers and infants, and continue to make Massachusetts a national and global leader in reproductive healthcare.”

“This comprehensive maternal health bill represents the legislature’s commitment to addressing health care disparities, improving midwifery, prenatal, and postpartum care, and ensuring every mother has access to quality healthcare,” said Representative Donato. “It is important that we invest into maternal health because not only are we supporting families, but we are also strengthening our communities. I am honored to have co-sponsored such an important public health bill.”

“This groundbreaking legislation reflects Massachusetts’ promise and dedication to strengthening access to affordable and high-quality maternal healthcare,” said Representative Ultrino. “By expanding access to essential care and supports, we are taking a step in the right direction in closing the gaps that exist in maternal health care, especially for birthing people of color.”

“I was glad to join my colleagues in the Legislature in supporting this critical legislation to enhance maternal health broadly and to reduce maternal health disparities in our communities of color,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “As a mother who suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of my first son, I’m particularly proud of the provisions ensuring that all new mothers be offered a postpartum depression screening covered by insurance. Following the birth of my second son, I received such screenings at each of his pediatrician appointments – something that did not exist with my first motherhood experience – and benefitted firsthand from the attention that such a responsive resource offered.”

Key provisions of this law

• Creating a state licensure pathway for certified professional midwives, and requiring certain insurance providers, such as MassHealth, to cover midwifery and doula services
• Encouraging more freestanding birth centers by requiring the Department of Public Health (DPH) to promulgate updated regulations governing their licensure to ensure safe, accessible and equitable birth options
• Requiring that MassHealth cover noninvasive prenatal screenings to detect whether a pregnancy is at increased risk for chromosomal abnormalities for all pregnant women regardless of age, baseline risk or family history
• Requiring health insurers to cover medically necessary pasteurized donor human milk and products derived from it, serving as a critical source of nutrition for the growth and development of babies, particularly for vulnerable premature infants
• Requiring DPH to conduct a public awareness campaign about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and to develop and maintain a digital resource center for the public
• Requiring that perinatal individuals be offered a screening for postpartum depression and major depressive disorder, and that those services be covered by health insurance plans
• Expanding the universal postpartum home visiting program administered by DPH and providing coverage for the program’s services to better address access barriers and reduce racial inequities in maternal health
• Allowing Massachusetts residents to use their earned paid sick time in the event of a pregnancy loss
• Establishing a grant program under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services aimed at addressing maternal mental health to support the creation or expansion of initiatives serving perinatal individuals, particularly those in underserved populations, to improve mental health and substance use disorder prevention and treatment
• Establishing a task force to study the current availability of, and access to, maternal health services and care, as well as essential service closures of inpatient maternity units and acute-level birthing centers. The task force will identify methods of increasing financial investment in, and patient access to, maternal healthcare in the Commonwealth.