Massachusetts H 911: An Act to increase access to lactation support through proper reimbursement

Bill Text

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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 544 FILED ON: 1/11/2019
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 911

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Christine P. Barber
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to increase access to lactation support through proper reimbursement.
_______________
PETITION OF:

NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED:
Christine P. Barber 34th Middlesex 1/11/2019
Carmine Lawrence Gentile 13th Middlesex 1/23/2019
Aaron Vega 5th Hampden 1/24/2019
Carolyn C. Dykema 8th Middlesex 1/24/2019
Steven Ultrino 33rd Middlesex 1/25/2019
Ruth B. Balser 12th Middlesex 1/28/2019
Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex 1/28/2019
David M. Rogers 24th Middlesex 1/29/2019
Bud L. Williams 11th Hampden 1/30/2019
John J. Lawn, Jr. 10th Middlesex 1/30/2019
Kay Khan 11th Middlesex 1/30/2019
Randy Hunt 5th Barnstable 1/30/2019
Tommy Vitolo 15th Norfolk 1/30/2019
Jennifer E. Benson 37th Middlesex 1/31/2019
Paul McMurtry 11th Norfolk 1/31/2019
Natalie M. Higgins 4th Worcester 1/31/2019
Denise C. Garlick 13th Norfolk 1/31/2019
Nika C. Elugardo 15th Suffolk 2/1/2019

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Kevin G. Honan 17th Suffolk 2/1/2019
David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf 17th Worcester 2/1/2019

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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 544 FILED ON: 1/11/2019
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 911
By Ms. Barber of Somerville, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 911) of Christine P.
Barber and others relative to coverage for lactation support by certain insurance providers.
Financial Services.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)
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An Act to increase access to lactation support through proper reimbursement.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:

1 SECTION 1. Chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official
2 Addition, is amended by inserting as Section 47cc the following:
3 (A) Any blanket or general policy of insurance described in subdivision (A), (C), or
4 (D) of section 110 which is issued or subsequently renewed by agreement between the insurer
5 and the policyholder, within or without the commonwealth, during the period this provision is
6 effective, or any policy of accident and sickness insurance as described in section 108 which
7 provides hospital expense and surgical expense insurance and which is delivered or issued for
8 delivery or subsequently renewed by agreement between the insurer and the policyholder in the
9 commonwealth during the period that this provision is effective shall provide, to the same extent
10 that benefits are provided for other pregnancy-related procedures coverage for lactation support
11 consisting of, at minimum, lactation care and services by qualified lactation care providers
12 provided that such services are within the lawful scope of practice for such providers, the costs

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13 of breastfeeding equipment, and the performance of any necessary maternal and newborn clinical
14 assessments.
15 (B) For purposes of this Section:
16 “Breastfeeding equipment” means manual, electric, single user and multi-user breast
17 pumps, breast pump flanges, nipple shields, and other lactation accessories recommended by a
18 qualified lactation care provider or other health professional, whether a rental or a purchase.
19 “Lactation care and services” means the clinical application of scientific principles and a
20 multidisciplinary body of evidence to provide evaluation, problem identification, treatment,
21 education and consultation, regarding breastfeeding and breast milk feeding to client-defined
22 families by a qualified lactation care provider. Lactation care and services may be delivered
23 during pregnancy, a hospital stay, and the postpartum period, and may be delivered in an office
24 setting, in a hospital, through home visits, through telephone support, or any combination of
25 these.
26 Lactation care and services include but are not limited to:
27 (1) Lactation assessment through the systematic collection of subjective and objective
28 data;
29 (2) Analysis of data;
30 (3) Development of a lactation care plan with demonstration and instruction to
31 parents and communication to the primary health care provider;
32 (4) Provision of lactation education to parents and health care providers; and

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33 (5) The recommendation and use of assistive devices.
34 “Nationally recognized accrediting agency” shall mean the National Commission for
35 Certifying Agencies (“NCCA”), the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (“ICE”), and
36 American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”).
37 “Qualified lactation care provider” means a person who possesses current certification
38 from a certification program a