Maternal Health Midwives

Current law requires "direct-entry midwives" to register with the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies before practicing. Sections 2 through 12 of the bill make changes within the direct-entry midwives practice act to update the title of these professionals to "certified professional midwives" and change the regulation from registration to licensure. Sections 21 19 through 31 29 make the same updates to current law in other statutes outside of the practice act. Current law allows the state board for community colleges and occupational education to use unexpended resources from the in-demand short-term health-care credentials program (program) to expand the eligible programs that may receive support through the program. Section 13 allows the board to expand the eligible programs to include certified professional midwives. Section 13 requires the civil rights commission to establish certain parameters when receiving reports for maternity care. Section 15 adds pregnancy as a protected class for purposes of discrimination in places of public accommodation.

The bill adds a midwife to the environmental justice advisory board ( section 16 14 ) and the governor's expert emergency epidemic response committee ( section 20 18 ). Section 17 15 requires a health facility that provides maternal health services to notify certain individuals before eliminating or reducing the services. Section 18 16 adds midwifery as a preferred area of expertise for members of the health equity commission. Section 19 requires 17 allows the maternal mortality review committee department of public health and environment to contract with a third-party evaluator to complete the following tasks and make appropriate recommendations :

• Study closures , consolidations, and acquisitions related to perinatal health-care practices and facilities and perinatal health-care deserts state-designated health professional shortage areas and assets and deficits related to perinatal health and health-care services across the state, not limited to obstetric providers;
• Identify major outcome categories that the department of public health and environment should track over time and identify risks and opportunities;
• Explore the effects of practice and facility closures (closures) on maternal and infant health outcomes and experiences;
• Identify recommendations during closures and resultant transfers of care;
• Identify best practice guidelines during closures and resultant transfers of care; and
• Create a maternal health desert health professional shortage area and perinatal health services assets and asset deficits map.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)