STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5007--A
Cal. No. 900
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 27, 2009
___________
Introduced by Sens. DUANE, ADAMS, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HUNTLEY, KRUEGER,
MONTGOMERY, OPPENHEIMER, PERALTA, SCHNEIDERMAN, SQUADRON, VALESKY --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Higher Education -- recommitted to the Committee on
Higher Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported
favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report,
ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the education law and the insurance law, in relation to
the definition of the practice of midwifery
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 6951 of the education law,
2 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 328 of the laws of 1992 and subdivi-
3 sion 2 as added by chapter 327 of the laws of 1992, are amended to read
4 as follows:
5 1. The practice of the profession of midwifery is defined as the
6 management of normal pregnancies, child birth and postpartum care as
7 well as primary preventive reproductive health care of essentially heal-
8 thy women [as specified in the written practice agreement], and shall
9 include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for infants.
10 [Midwifery shall be practiced in accordance with a written agreement
11 between the midwife and (i) a licensed physician who is board certified
12 as an obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certifying body or (ii) a
13 licensed physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric privileges
14 at a general hospital (licensed under article twenty-eight of the public
15 health law) or (iii) a hospital (licensed under article twenty-eight of
16 the public health law) that provides obstetrics through a licensed
17 physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution. The writ-
18 ten agreement shall provide for physician consultation, collaboration,
19 referral and emergency medical obstetrical coverage, and shall include
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11636-06-0
S. 5007--A 2
1 written guidelines and protocols. The written agreement shall provide
2 guidelines for the identification of pregnancies that are not considered
3 normal and address the procedures to be followed. The written agreement
4 shall also provide a mechanism for dispute resolution and shall provide
5 that the judgment of the appropriate physician shall prevail as to
6 whether the pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum care is normal and
7 whether the woman is essentially healthy in the event the practice
8 protocols do not provide otherwise.] A midwife shall have collaborative
9 relationships with (i) a licensed physician who is board certified as an
10 obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certifying body or (ii) a
11 licensed physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric privileges
12 at a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of the public
13 health law or (iii) a hospital, licensed under article twenty-eight of
14 the public health law, that provides obstetrics through a licensed
15 physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that
16 provide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to
17 address the health status and risks of his or her patients and that
18 include plans for emergency medical gynecological and/or obstetrical
19 coverage. A midwife shall maintain documentation of such collaborative
20 relationships and shall make information about such collaborative
21 relationships available to his or her patients. Failure to comply with
22 the requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to profes-
23 sional misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred thirty
24 of this title.
25 2. A licensed midwife shall have the authority, as necessary, and
26 limited to the practice of midwifery, [and subject to limitations in the
27 written agreement,] to prescribe and administer drugs, immunizing
28 agents, diagnostic tests and devices, and to order laboratory tests, as
29 established by the board in accordance with the commissioner's regu-
30 lations. A midwife shall obtain a certificate from the department upon
31 successfully completing a program including a pharmacology component, or
32 its equivalent, as established by the commissioner's regulations prior
33 to prescribing under this section.
34 § 2. Item (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph 10 of subsection (i) of
35 section 3216 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 495 of the laws
36 of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
37 (i) Every policy which provides hospital, surgical or medical coverage
38 shall provide coverage for maternity care, including hospital, surgical
39 or medical care to the same extent that hospital, surgical or medical
40 coverage is provided for illness or disease under the policy. Such
41 maternity care coverage, other than coverage for perinatal compli-
42 cations, shall include inpatient hospital coverage for mother and for
43 newborn for at least forty-eight hours after childbirth for any delivery
44 other than a caesarean section, and for at least ninety-six hours after
45 a caesarean section. Such coverage for maternity care shall include the
46 services of a midwife licensed pursuant to article one hundred forty of
47 the education law, practicing consistent with [a written agreement
48 pursuant to ]section sixty-nine hundred fifty-one of the education law
49 and affiliated or practicing in conjunction with a facility licensed
50 pursuant to article twenty-eight of the public health law, but no insur-
51 er shall be required to pay for duplicative routine services actually
52 provided by both a licensed midwife and a physician.
53 § 3. Item (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph 5 of subsection (k) of
54 section 3221 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 495 of the laws
55 of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
S. 5007--A 3
1 (i) Every group or blanket policy delivered or issued for delivery in
2 this state which provides hospital, surgical or medical coverage shall
3 include coverage for maternity care, including hospital, surgical or
4 medical care to the same extent that coverage is provided for illness or
5 disease under the policy. Such maternity care coverage, other than
6 coverage for perinatal complications, shall include inpatient hospital
7 coverage for mother and newborn for at least forty-eight hours after
8 childbirth for any delivery other than a caesarean section, and for at
9 least ninety-six hours after a caesarean section. Such coverage for
10 maternity care shall include the services of a midwife licensed pursuant
11 to article one hundred forty of the education law, practicing consistent
12 with [a written agreement pursuant to ]section sixty-nine hundred
13 fifty-one of the education law and affiliated or practicing in conjunc-
14 tion with a facility licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight of the
15 public health law, but no insurer shall be required to pay for duplica-
16 tive routine services actually provided by both a licensed midwife and a
17 physician.
18 § 4. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph 1 of subsection (c) of section 4303
19 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 495 of the laws of 1998, is
20 amended to read as follows:
21 (A) Every contract issued by a corporation subject to the provisions
22 of this article which provides hospital service, medical expense indem-
23 nity or both shall provide coverage for maternity care including hospi-
24 tal, surgical or medical care to the same extent that hospital service,
25 medical expense indemnity or both are provided for illness or disease
26 under the contract. Such maternity care coverage, other than coverage
27 for perinatal complications, shall include inpatient hospital coverage
28 for mother and for newborn for at least forty-eight hours after child-
29 birth for any delivery other than a caesarean section, and for at least
30 ninety-six hours following a caesarean section. Such coverage for mater-
31 nity care shall include the services of a midwife licensed pursuant to
32 article one hundred forty of the education law, practicing consistent
33 with [a written agreement pursuant to] section sixty-nine hundred
34 fifty-one of the education law and affiliated or practicing in conjunc-
35 tion with a facility licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight of the
36 public health law, but no insurer shall be required to pay for duplica-
37 tive routine services actually provided by both a licensed midwife and a
38 physician.
39 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
40 have become a law.
