STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3016 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 28, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, BICHOTTE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health 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: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2500-k of the public health law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 3 (c) "Questionnaire" means an assessment tool administered by a 4 licensed health care professional, to detect maternal depression such as 5 the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Postpartum Depression 6 Screening Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Patient Health Ques- 7 tionnaire, or other validated assessment methods as approved by the 8 commissioner. 9 § 2. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 2500-k of the public health law, 10 subdivision 4 as renumbered by chapter 463 of the laws of 2017, are 11 renumbered subdivisions 4 and 5 and a new subdivision 3 is added to read 12 as follows: 13 3. Maternal depression screenings. (a) Maternal health care providers 14 providing prenatal care at a prenatal visit shall invite each pregnant 15 patient to complete a questionnaire and shall review the completed ques- 16 tionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions and recommendations of 17 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Assessment for 18 maternal depression must be repeated when, in the professional judgment 19 of the maternal health care provider, a reasonable possibility exists 20 that the pregnant patient suffers from maternal depression. 21 (b) Maternal health care providers providing postnatal care to women 22 shall invite each patient to complete a questionnaire and shall review 23 the completed questionnaire in accordance with the formal opinions of 24 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Assessment for 25 maternal depression must be repeated when, in the professional judgment EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05055-01-9A. 3016 2 1 of the maternal health care provider, a reasonable possibility exists 2 that the pregnant patient suffers from maternal depression. 3 (c) Maternal health care providers providing pediatric care to an 4 infant shall invite the infant's mother to complete a questionnaire at 5 any well-child check-up at which the mother is present prior to the 6 infant's first birthday, and shall review the completed questionnaire in 7 accordance with the formal opinions and recommendations of the American 8 College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in order to ensure that the 9 health and well-being of the infant is not compromised by an undiagnosed 10 condition of maternal depression in the mother. Assessment for maternal 11 depression must be repeated when, in the professional judgment of the 12 maternal health care provider, a reasonable possibility exists that the 13 pregnant patient suffers from maternal depression. 14 (d) Consent from the mother must be obtained before a maternal health 15 care provider may share results from an assessment with the mother's 16 primary licensed health care professional, unless the mother is deter- 17 mined to present a danger to herself or others. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 19 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 20 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 21 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 22 completed by the commissioner of health on or before such effective 23 date.