Directs the department of health to conduct an ongoing public awareness and education program on doulas and how beneficial they are to pregnancies.
Summary
This bill would add a new section to the Public Health Law directing the New York State Department of Health to create and maintain an ongoing public awareness and education program about doulas and their benefits during pregnancy, labor, and birth. The department would be required to produce and distribute educational materials explaining what doulas do and why they may improve pregnancy outcomes, and to make those materials available to health care providers for distribution to patients.
The bill also requires the department to publish information on its website about the role of doulas in reducing maternal mortality, including the heightened risk faced by pregnant individuals who are primarily Black. The department must periodically review available data, update its materials as needed, and report every three years beginning January 1, 2028, on implementation and recommendations. The act would take effect immediately.
Impact
The bill would amend the Public Health Law by adding a new section establishing a state-run doula awareness and education program within the Department of Health. It would not create a licensing scheme or mandate doula services, but it would require the state to develop educational content, distribute it through providers and online, and periodically update it based on available data. The measure would primarily affect the Department of Health, health care providers who receive the materials, and pregnant individuals and families who may use the information.
Sentiment
The available context suggests a supportive, public-health-oriented purpose focused on maternal health education and reducing disparities in pregnancy outcomes. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no direct evidence of opposition or formal debate in the supplied materials. The bill’s framing around doulas, maternal mortality, and Black maternal health indicates an emphasis on prevention and awareness rather than controversy.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record. Potential areas of debate, based on the bill text alone, could include whether the state should spend resources on public education rather than direct services, how the Department of Health should characterize the evidence on doulas and mortality outcomes, and whether the bill’s focus on Black maternal mortality should be paired with broader maternal health interventions. However, none of these concerns are attributed to any legislator, agency, or stakeholder in the supplied materials.
Same As
Directs the department of health to conduct an ongoing public awareness and education program on doulas and how beneficial they are to pregnancies.
Requires the education department, in consultation with the department of health, to develop and adopt a comprehensive fentanyl education, awareness, and recognition program for all public, charter, and private schools in the state.
Requires the education department, in consultation with the department of health, to develop and adopt a comprehensive fentanyl education, awareness, and recognition program for all public, charter, and private schools in the state.
Establishes a 14 member doula Medicaid reimbursement work group within the department of health to set reimbursement rates for doulas in the state Medicaid program and address other criteria related to their practice; requires the work group to conduct a study and evaluate the costs, benefits and issues that may be associated with Medicaid reimbursement for doulas and for providing doula care to Medicaid recipients; makes related provisions.
To Terminate The Arkansas Health And Opportunity For Me Program; And To Transfer All Beneficiaries In The Arkansas Health And Opportunity For Me Program To The Traditional Arkansas Medicaid Program.