NY State Senate Bill S2039

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Women's Issues Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 18, 2023	referred to women's issues

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S2039 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2870
Current Committee:: Senate Women's Issues
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2500-k, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: A7138
2019-2020: A3016
2021-2022: S7865, A5076

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to maternal depression screenings; requires maternal health care providers providing pre- and postnatal care or pediatric care to the mother's infant to invite the mother to fill out a questionnaire to detect maternal depression.

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S2039

SPONSOR: BROUK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to maternal
depression screenings

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Requires maternal health care providers to offer a maternal depression
screening to new mothers when providing prenatal, postnatal, and pedia-
tric care for the mother's child.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill amends subdivision 1 of section 2500-k of the
public health law to define "questionnaire" for the purposes of this
section as an assessment tool to detect maternal depression.

Section two of this bill amends subdivision 3 of section 2500--k of the
public health law to require maternal health care providers providing

prenatal care, postnatal care, and pediatric care to screen the person
who gave birth for maternal depression by inviting the birthing person
to fill out a questionnaire that will help detect maternal depression.
The bill also recommends that maternal health care providers make the
best efforts to contact the person who gave birth within 21 days from
the date of delivery and use industry practices to detect maternal
depression. "Maternal health care providers" are already defined in the
public health law as a physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, or physi-
cian assistant attending a pregnant woman or a woman or her child up to
one year after childbirth. This section also requires consent be
obtained from the mother before the mother's results of the question-
naire may be shared with the mother's primary health care professional.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would make maternal depression screenings more available to
new mothers by asking providers to offer screenings not just at their
pre and postpartum checkups, but also at the initial pediatric checkups
of their new born child. The intent is to help health care professionals
better detect and refer patients suffering from maternal depression to
appropriate care, improving the health of not only the mother but the
whole family.

Section 2500-k of the Public Health Law defines the term "maternal
depression" as a wide range of emotional and psychological reactions one
may experience during pregnancy or after childbirth. These reactions may
include but are not limited to, feelings of despair or extreme guilt,
prolonged sadness, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, fatigue,
extreme changes in appetite, and thoughts of suicide or of harming the
baby. Maternal depression may include prenatal depression, the "baby
blues," postpartum depression, or postpartum psychosis - the severest
form.

Maternal depression can create bonding Issues between a gestational
parent and their baby, contribute to sleep and feeding problems, and
cause emotional, developmental and verbal complications in children.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(ACOG), maternal mental health conditions affect 20% of all birthing
people and alarmingly, 40% of Black birthing persons during pregnancy or
postpartum. It is estimated that over half of the instances of maternal
depression in women of color go unreported.

ACOG has recommended that postpartum care should be an ongoing process
rather than a single encounter and that all women and gestational
parents have with their OB-GYNs within the first three weeks postpartum.

Passing this bill to make maternal depression screenings more available
would improve the health of tens of thousands of birthing parents annu-
ally, and by extension would support the health of all members of these
growing families.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: committed to rules

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall become a law.

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2039
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. BROUK, ADDABBO, CLEARE, COONEY, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM,
   HOYLMAN-SIGAL, KENNEDY, MYRIE, PERSAUD, SANDERS, SKOUFIS, WEIK -- read
   twice  and  ordered  printed,  and when printed to be committed to the
   Committee on Women's Issues
 
 AN ACT  to  amend  the  public  health  law,  in  relation  to  maternal
   depression screenings

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2500-k of the public health law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
   (C)  "QUESTIONNAIRE"  MEANS  AN  ASSESSMENT  TOOL  ADMINISTERED  BY  A
 LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, TO DETECT MATERNAL DEPRESSION SUCH AS
 THE  EDINBURGH  POSTNATAL  DEPRESSION  SCALE,  THE POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION
 SCREENING SCALE, THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY, THE PATIENT HEALTH QUES-
 TIONNAIRE, OR OTHER VALIDATED ASSESSMENT  METHODS  AS  APPROVED  BY  THE
 COMMISSIONER.
   §  2. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 2500-k of the public health law,
 subdivision 4 as renumbered by chapter 463 of  the  laws  of  2017,  are
 renumbered subdivisions 4 and 5 and a new subdivision 3 is added to read
 as follows:
   3.  MATERNAL DEPRESSION SCREENINGS. (A) MATERNAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
 PROVIDING PRENATAL CARE AT A PRENATAL VISIT SHALL INVITE  EACH  PREGNANT
 PATIENT TO COMPLETE A QUESTIONNAIRE AND SHALL REVIEW THE COMPLETED QUES-
 TIONNAIRE  IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAL OPINIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF
 THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS. ASSESSMENT  FOR
 MATERNAL  DEPRESSION MUST BE REPEATED WHEN, IN THE PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT
 OF THE MATERNAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER, A  REASONABLE  POSSIBILITY  EXISTS
 THAT THE PREGNANT PATIENT SUFFERS FROM MATERNAL DEPRESSION.
   (B) MATERNAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS PROVIDING POSTNATAL CARE TO PERSONS
 WHO GAVE BIRTH SHALL INVITE EACH PATIENT TO COMPLETE A QUESTIONNAIRE AND
 SHALL  REVIEW  THE COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03810-01-3

 S. 2039                             2
 
 OPINIONS OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE  OF  OBSTETRICIANS  AND  GYNECOLOGISTS.
 ASSESSMENT FOR MATERNAL DEPRESSION MUST BE REPEATED WHEN, IN THE PROFES-
 SIONAL  JUDGMENT  OF  THE  MATERNAL  HEALTH  CARE PROVIDER, A REASONABLE
 POSSIBILITY  EXISTS  THAT  THE  PREGNANT  PATIENT  SUFFERS FROM MATERNAL
 DEPRESSION.
   (C) IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT MATERNAL HEALTH  CARE  PROVIDERS  MAKE  THE
 BEST  EFFORTS  PRACTICABLE  TO  CONTACT THE PERSON WHO GAVE BIRTH WITHIN
 TWENTY-ONE DAYS FROM THE DATE OF DELIVERY AND USE INDUSTRY PRACTICES  TO
 DETECT MATERNAL DEPRESSION PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
   (D)  MATERNAL  HEALTH  CARE  PROVIDERS  PROVIDING PEDIATRIC CARE TO AN
 INFANT SHALL INVITE THE INFANT'S MOTHER TO COMPLETE A  QUESTIONNAIRE  AT
 ANY  WELL-CHILD  CHECK-UP  AT  WHICH  THE MOTHER IS PRESENT PRIOR TO THE
 INFANT'S FIRST BIRTHDAY, AND SHALL REVIEW THE COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAL OPINIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE  AMERICAN
 COLLEGE  OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE
 HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THE INFANT IS NOT COMPROMISED BY AN UNDIAGNOSED
 CONDITION OF MATERNAL DEPRESSION IN THE MOTHER.  ASSESSMENT FOR MATERNAL
 DEPRESSION MUST BE REPEATED WHEN, IN THE PROFESSIONAL  JUDGMENT  OF  THE
 MATERNAL  HEALTH CARE PROVIDER, A REASONABLE POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT THE
 PREGNANT PATIENT SUFFERS FROM MATERNAL DEPRESSION.
   (E) CONSENT FROM THE MOTHER MUST BE OBTAINED BEFORE A MATERNAL  HEALTH
 CARE  PROVIDER  MAY  SHARE  RESULTS FROM AN ASSESSMENT WITH THE MOTHER'S
 PRIMARY LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, UNLESS THE MOTHER  IS  DETER-
 MINED TO PRESENT A DANGER TO HERSELF OR OTHERS.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
 completed on or before such effective date.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S2039

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Women's Issues Committee

Your Voice

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Co-Sponsors

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Details

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S2039

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Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Women's Issues Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Co-Sponsors

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Details

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S2039 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments