Expectant parents in Massachusetts are likely to have more freedom choosing where and how they give birth following the passage Thursday of a sweeping maternal health bill that expands access to midwives in the state. If the measure gets the governor’s signature, certified professional midwives would be licensed, regulated, and covered by Medicaid in Massachusetts and would be able to write prescriptions. Massachusetts is one of just 12 states without licensed midwives.
The bill is one of five that proposed major health-related reforms this year but failed to receive final approval before the Legislature ended its formal session on the early morning of Aug. 1, despite being passed in both houses. Conference committees ran out of time to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills, a necessary step before final passage.
Following a particularly unproductive session , legislators swore the health bills could still get the votes to move them to the governor’s desk. Advertisement State Representative Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge Democrat, was a member of the conference committee considering the maternal health bill and said Thursday, “My cochair and I just continued talking,” after the legislative session ended. The maternal health legislation was the first to move forward through informal legislative sessions.
Other health bills still pending include legislation to reform hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, and nursing homes in the st.