STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7234--B
Cal. No. 1089
IN SENATE
May 7, 2014
___________
Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, CARLUCCI, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, PERKINS,
SERRANO, TKACZYK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
to be committed to the Committee on Health -- reported favorably from
said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- reported
favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report,
amended on second report, ordered to a third reading, and to be
reprinted as amended, retaining its place in the order of third read-
ing -- again amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the
order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the insurance law, in relation
to the provision of maternal depression education, screening guide-
lines, and referrals for treatment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 2500-k to read as follows:
3 § 2500-k. Maternal depression. 1. Definitions. As used in this
4 section:
5 (a) "Maternal depression" means a wide range of emotional and psycho-
6 logical reactions a woman may experience during pregnancy or after
7 childbirth. These reactions may include, but are not limited to, feel-
8 ings of despair or extreme guilt, prolonged sadness, lack of energy,
9 difficulty concentrating, fatigue, extreme changes in appetite, and
10 thoughts of suicide or of harming the baby. Maternal depression may
11 include prenatal depression, the "baby blues," postpartum depression, or
12 postpartum psychosis -- the severest form.
13 (b) "Maternal health care provider" means a physician, midwife, nurse
14 practitioner, or physician assistant, or other health care practitioner
15 acting within his or her lawful scope of practice, attending a pregnant
16 woman or a woman up to one year after childbirth, including a practi-
17 tioner attending the woman's child up to one year after childbirth.
18 2. Maternal depression information. (a) The commissioner, in consulta-
19 tion with the commissioner of mental health, shall make available to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14648-10-4
S. 7234--B 2
1 maternal health care providers information on maternal depression. The
2 information shall include, but not be limited to:
3 (i) a summary of the current evidence base and professional guidelines
4 for maternal depression screening;
5 (ii) validated, evidence-based tools for maternal depression screen-
6 ing;
7 (iii) information about follow-up support for patients who may require
8 further evaluation, referral, or treatment including, when available,
9 information about specific community resources and entities licensed by
10 the office of mental health; and
11 (iv) information on engaging support for the mother, which may include
12 communicating with the other parent of the child and other family
13 members, as appropriate and consistent with patient confidentiality.
14 (b) The information on maternal depression shall be posted on the
15 department's website. The commissioner shall, in collaboration with the
16 commissioner of mental health, update and review the information on
17 maternal depression, as necessary.
18 3. The commissioner shall make any regulations necessary to implement
19 this section.
20 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 207 of the public health law is amended
21 by adding a new paragraph (j) to read as follows:
22 (j) Maternal depression, including information about education,
23 screening, referral services, and possible options for treatment.
24 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 2803-j of the public health law, as
25 amended by chapter 62 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as
26 follows:
27 1. The commissioner shall require that every hospital and birth center
28 shall prepare in printed or photocopied form and distribute at the time
29 of pre-booking directly to each prospective maternity patient and, upon
30 request, to the general public an informational leaflet. Such leaflet
31 shall be designed by the commissioner and shall contain brief defi-
32 nitions of maternity related procedures and practices as specified in
33 subdivision two of this section and such other material as deemed appro-
34 priate by the commissioner. Hospitals and birth centers may also elect
35 to distribute additional explanatory material along with the maternity
36 patients informational leaflet. The commissioner shall make the informa-
37 tion contained in the leaflet available on the department's website.
38 § 4. Subdivision 1-b of section 2803-j of the public health law, as
39 added by chapter 647 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
40 1-b. The informational leaflet shall also include information relating
41 to the physical and mental health of the maternity patient after
42 discharge from the hospital, including, but not limited to, information
43 about [post-partum] maternal depression. The commissioner, in collab-
44 oration with the commissioner of mental health, shall review and update
45 the information on maternal depression contained in the leaflet, as
46 necessary. The informational leaflets shall be made available to
47 patients in the top six languages spoken in the state, other than
48 English, according to the latest available data from the United States
49 Census Bureau.
50 § 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 2803-n of the public
51 health law, as added by chapter 56 of the laws of 1996, is amended to
52 read as follows:
53 (b) Maternity care shall also include, at minimum, parent education,
54 assistance and training in breast or bottle feeding, education on mater-
55 nal depression, education on maternal depression screening and refer-
56 rals, and the performance of any necessary maternal and newborn clinical
S. 7234--B 3
1 assessments. Notwithstanding this requirement, nothing in this para-
2 graph is intended to result in the hospital charging any amount for such
3 services in addition to the applicable charge for the maternity inpa-
4 tient hospital admission.
5 § 6. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3217-g to
6 read as follows:
7 § 3217-g. Maternal depression screenings. To the extent a policy
8 provides coverage for maternal depression screening, no insurer subject
9 to this article shall by contract, written policy or procedure limit a
10 patient insured's direct access to screening and referral for maternal
11 depression, as defined in subdivision one of section twenty-five
12 hundred-k of the public health law, from a provider of obstetrical,
13 gynecologic, or pediatric services of her choice; provided that the
14 patient insured's access to such services, coverage and choice of
15 provider is otherwise subject to the terms and conditions of the policy
16 under which the patient insured is covered.
17 § 7. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 4306-f to
18 read as follows:
19 § 4306-f. Maternal depression screenings. To the extent a contract
20 provides coverage for maternal depression screening, no corporation
21 subject to this article shall by contract, written policy or procedure
22 limit a patient insured's direct access to screening and referral for
23 maternal depression, as defined in subdivision one of section twenty-
24 five hundred-k of the public health law, from a provider of obstetrical,
25 gynecologic, or pediatric services of her choice; provided that the
26 patient insured's access to such services, coverage and choice of
27 provider is otherwise subject to the terms and conditions of the
28 contract under which the patient insured is covered.
29 § 8. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 4406-f
30 to read as follows:
31 § 4406-f. Maternal depression screenings. To the extent a plan
32 provides coverage for maternal depression screening, no health mainte-
33 nance organization subject to this article shall by contract, written
34 policy or procedure limit a patient enrollee's direct access to screen-
35 ing and referral for maternal depression, as defined in subdivision one
36 of section twenty-five hundred-k of this chapter, from a provider of
37 obstetrical, gynecologic, or pediatric services of her choice; provided
38 that the patient enrollee's access to such services, coverage and choice
39 of provider is otherwise subject to the terms and conditions of the plan
40 under which the patient enrollee is covered.
41 § 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
42 it shall have become a law; provided that (a) sections six, seven and
43 eight of this act shall apply to all policies and contracts issued,
44 renewed, modified, altered, amended or delivered on or after the first
45 of January after this act becomes a law; and (b) effective immediately,
46 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
47 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is author-
48 ized to be made and completed by the commissioner of health on or before
49 such effective date.
