Senate Bill S4917

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4917A

SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring postpartum
pelvic floor physical therapy be covered under maternity care

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Item (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph 10 of subsection
(i) of section 3216 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 56 of the
laws of 1996.

(ii) Maternity care coverage shall also include, at minimum, parent
education, assistance and training in breast bottle feeding, postpartum
pelvic floor physical therapy and the performance of any necessary
maternal and newborn clinical assessments.

Section 2: Item (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph 5 of subsection
(k) of section 3221 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 56 of the
laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:

              

(ii) Maternity care coverage shall also include, at minimum, parent
education, assistance and training in breast or bottle feeding, postpar-
tum pelvic floor physical therapy, and the performance of any necessary
maternal and newborn clinical assessment.

Section 3: Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection 9c) of section
4303 of the insurance law, as amended by chapter 661 of the laws of
1997, is amended to read as follows: (B) Maternity care coverage also
shall include , at minimum, parent education, assistance and training in
breast or bottle feeding, postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy, and
the performance of any necessary maternal and newborn clinical assess-
ments.

Section 4: This act shall take effect one year after it shall have
become a law and shall apply to policies or contracts issued, renewed,
modified, altered, or amended on or after such date.  Effective imme-
diately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
authorized to be made and completed on or before such date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The current standard of maternal care does not automatically include a
referral to a pelvic floor physical therapist, prompting many women to
seek out the resources on their own.

Not enough doctors are diagnosing women facing pelvic issues postpartum
because musculoskeletal health is not technically the OBGYN's responsi-
bility. The standard of insurance-covered medical care in the United
States includes one postpartum checkup at 6 weeks.

This examination includes depression screening, discussion around
contraception and breastfeeding, and checking the health of the cervix
and uterus. This visit does not routinely include evaluation of muscu-
loskeletal structures.

Since pelvic floor physical therapy is not automatically part of a
women's medical care in the US, treatable impairments are often left
unidentified and treated.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become taw and shall apply to policies or
contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered, or amended on or after
such date. Effective immediate, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of
any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on
its effective date are authorized to be made completed on or before such
date.