Help Maryland midwives with Legislative efforts that improve the status of women’s health care and of midwives across the state!

The Maryland Affiliate Legislative Committee is devoted to working on legislation, both federal and state, that will benefit women’s health care issues such as breastfeeding and access to midwifery care. The Legislative Committee also strives to focus on bills that will improve midwifery practices in the state of Maryland and also nationally.

Current Legislative Efforts:

State: We hve no current legislation in the hopper.
 

Federal:
ACNM commends Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) for introducing the "Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services for the 21st Century Act (MOMS 21)" (HR 2141), which was introduced on June 3, 2011. ACNM supports the goal of this legislation to improve maternity care outcomes for mothers and babies and bend the cost curve of our maternity care expenditures in the U.S. (text from ACNM website)

The Midwifery Care Access and Reimbursement Equity Act of 2007 .As of January 1, 2011, the CNM reimbursement rate increased from 65% to 100% of the Medicare Part B fee schedule. This long-awaited provision is part of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) signed into law on March 23, 2010, by President Barack Obama. (Text from ACNM website)

Past Legislative Efforts:

Maryland House Bill 1407: The Birth Options Preservation Act
This bill proposes to end the requirement that nurse-midwives practicing in Maryland have a written signed agreement with a physician through the Maryland State Board of Nursing. One of the main reasons for trying to pass this law is the redundancy of the written practice agreement requirement. The American College of Nurse-Midwives Standards of Practice, which are national regulations that all CNMs must abide by, already require nurse-midwives to have a written plan for consultation, collaboration and referral to medical care when appropriate. It is not necessary for a third party, the Maryland Board of Nursing to be involved.
This will go a long way to ensuring families greater access to nurse midwives throughout the state!

Final language of the bill is available at 
http://mlis.state.md.us/2008rs/billfile/hb1407.htm. This page will also have up-to-date public information on the bill throughout the legislative process.

Update: This bill is now REGULATION in the state of Maryland. Forms for the new Collaborative Plan can be found at the Maryland Board of Nursing's website:www.mbon.org.

 

Breastfeeding Bill – Passed in 2003, this State bill makes it a legal right for “a woman to breastfeed her child in any public or private place under specified circumstances and prohibits restrictions on breastfeeding”.

Legislative Co-Liaisons
Mairi Rothman – legislative@midwivesofmaryland.org
Tina Fisher – legislative2@midwivesofmaryland.org

Legislative committee members:
Coming soon

Get Involved!
ACNM members can become involved by visiting the ACNM Cap Wiz page which offers options for contacting your state and federal legislature as well as the media to voice your opinion of legislative efforts. Through this website you can easily discover the current status of a bill through updates and alerts.

ACNM members may also keep current with legislative efforts through it’s members only monthly publication The Advocate. This publication is written by the ACNM Government Affairs Committee, the Midwives-PAC, and ACNM staff.

Upcoming Legislative Events and Rallies
Coming soon