New York S 6494: Requires health insurance policies to include coverage for doula services as required coverage for maternity care

Bill Text

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S06494 Summary:

BILL NOS06494 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A05140

&nbsp

SPONSORCLEARE

&nbsp

COSPNSRBROUK, HOYLMAN-SIGAL

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§3216, 3221 & 4303, Ins L

&nbsp

Requires health insurance policies to include coverage for doula services as required coverage for maternity care.

Go to top S06494 Actions:

BILL NOS06494 

&nbsp

03/14/2025REFERRED TO WOMEN'S ISSUES

05/20/20251ST REPORT CAL.1141

05/21/20252ND REPORT CAL.

05/22/2025ADVANCED TO THIRD READING 

06/13/2025COMMITTED TO RULES

01/07/2026REFERRED TO WOMEN'S ISSUES

03/25/20261ST REPORT CAL.640

03/26/20262ND REPORT CAL.

03/30/2026ADVANCED TO THIRD READING 

04/29/2026PASSED SENATE

04/29/2026DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

04/29/2026referred to insurance

Go to topS06494 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS06494 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS06494 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 6494

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 March 14, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Women's Issues

 AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring health
 insurance policies to include coverage for doula services as required
 coverage for maternity care

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Item (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph 10 of subsection
 2 (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 238 of
 3 the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
 4 (i) Every policy which provides hospital, surgical or medical coverage
 5 shall provide coverage for maternity care, including hospital, surgical
 6 or medical care to the same extent that hospital, surgical or medical
 7 coverage is provided for illness or disease under the policy. Such
 8 maternity care coverage, other than coverage for perinatal compli-
 9 cations, shall include inpatient hospital coverage for mother and for
 10 newborn for at least forty-eight hours after childbirth for any delivery
 11 other than a caesarean section, and for at least ninety-six hours after
 12 a caesarean section. Such coverage for maternity care shall include the
 13 services of a doula and the services of a midwife licensed pursuant to
 14 article one hundred forty of the education law, practicing consistent
 15 with section sixty-nine hundred fifty-one of the education law and
 16 affiliated or practicing in conjunction with a facility licensed pursu-
 17 ant to article twenty-eight of the public health law, but no insurer
 18 shall be required to pay for duplicative routine services actually
 19 provided by both a licensed midwife and a physician.
 20 § 2. Item (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph 5 of subsection (k) of
 21 section 3221 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 238 of the laws
 22 of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
 23 (i) Every group or blanket policy delivered or issued for delivery in
 24 this state which provides hospital, surgical or medical coverage shall

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD09185-01-5

 S. 6494 2

 1 include coverage for maternity care, including hospital, surgical or
 2 medical care to the same extent that coverage is provided for illness or
 3 disease under the policy. Such maternity care coverage, other than
 4 coverage for perinatal complications, shall include inpatient hospital
 5 coverage for mother and newborn for at least forty-eight hours after
 6 childbirth for any delivery other than a caesarean section, and for at
 7 least ninety-six hours after a caesarean section. Such coverage for
 8 maternity care shall include the services of a doula and the services of
 9 a midwife licensed pursuant to article one hundred forty of the educa-
 10 tion law, practicing consistent with section sixty-nine hundred fifty-
 11 one of the education law and affiliated or practicing in conjunction
 12 with a facility licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight of the public
 13 health law, but no insurer shall be required to pay for duplicative
 14 routine services actually provided by both a licensed midwife and a