Bill Text: NY A04819 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the professional practice of community midwifery; defines as the management in the home, birth center, or community setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, including newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for infants; sets requirements for license and practice.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 41-5)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to higher education [A04819 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A04819-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4819--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 23, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SIMON, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, EPSTEIN, FORREST, WOERNER, THIELE, MAMDANI, DICKENS, MANKTELOW, STIRPE, L. ROSENTHAL, McMAHON, CRUZ, KELLES, LUPARDO, COOK, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, GUNTHER, CARROLL, JEAN-PIERRE, JACKSON, ZINERMAN, MITAYNES, LUNSFORD, CLARK, FAHY, REYES, MEEKS, HEVESI, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation to the practice of certified professional midwifery The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 140-A 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 140-A 4 CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIFERY 5 Section 6960. Introduction. 6 6961. Definition of practice of certified professional midwif- 7 ery. 8 6962. Practice of certified professional midwifery. 9 6963. Use of title "certified professional midwife". 10 6964. Requirements for a professional license. 11 6965. Exempt persons. 12 § 6960. Introduction. This article applies to the profession of certi- 13 fied professional midwifery. The general provisions for all professions 14 contained in article one hundred thirty of this title apply to this 15 article. 16 § 6961. Definition of practice of certified professional midwifery. 1. 17 The practice of the profession of certified professional midwifery is 18 defined as the management in the home, birth center, or community 19 setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, and 20 shall include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00632-02-3A. 4819--A 2 1 infants. A certified professional midwife may also provide precon- 2 ception care as defined by the commissioner. A certified professional 3 midwife shall have collaborative relationships with (a) a physician who 4 is board certified as an obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certi- 5 fying body or (b) a physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric 6 privileges at a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of 7 the public health law or (c) a hospital, licensed under article twenty- 8 eight of the public health law, that provides obstetrics through a 9 physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that 10 provide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to 11 address the health status and risks of the certified professional 12 midwife's patients and that include plans for emergency medical gyneco- 13 logical and obstetrical coverage. A certified professional midwife shall 14 maintain documentation of the collaborative relationships and shall make 15 information about the collaborative relationships available to the 16 certified professional midwife's patients. Failure to comply with the 17 requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to professional 18 misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred thirty of this 19 title. 20 2. A certified professional midwife shall have the authority, as 21 necessary, and limited to the practice of certified professional midwif- 22 ery, to prescribe and administer drugs, immunizing agents, diagnostic 23 tests and devices, and to order laboratory tests, as established and 24 limited by the board of midwifery in accordance with the commissioner's 25 regulations. A certified professional midwife shall obtain a certificate 26 from the department upon successfully completing a program including a 27 pharmacology component, or its equivalent, as established by the commis- 28 sioner's regulations prior to prescribing under this section. 29 3. Any reference to certified professional midwifery, or certified 30 professional midwife, under the provisions of this article, this chapter 31 or any other law, shall refer to and include the profession of certified 32 professional midwifery and a certified professional midwife, unless the 33 context clearly requires otherwise. 34 § 6962. Practice of certified professional midwifery. Only a person 35 licensed or exempt under this article or authorized by any other section 36 of law shall practice certified professional midwifery. 37 § 6963. Use of title "certified professional midwife". Only a person 38 licensed or exempt under this article shall use the title "certified 39 professional midwife" in connection with the practice of certified 40 professional midwifery in the state, provided, however, a person 41 licensed under article one hundred forty of this title and who has 42 obtained the credentials pursuant to subdivision two of section sixty- 43 nine hundred sixty-four of this article may also use the title "certi- 44 fied professional midwife". 45 § 6964. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a 46 license as a certified professional midwife, an applicant shall fulfill 47 the following requirements: 48 1. Application: file an application with the department. 49 2. Education: achieve and maintain the credential of certified profes- 50 sional midwife from a national certifying body specializing in the 51 certification of certified professional midwives and approved by the 52 commissioner and satisfactorily: 53 (a) complete an accredited educational program for the practice of 54 certified professional midwifery in accordance with the commissioner's 55 regulations; orA. 4819--A 3 1 (b) if an applicant receives a certified professional midwifery 2 certification within twenty-four months of the effective date of this 3 article through another educational pathway, or if certification 4 includes current licensing from another state or country not requiring 5 accredited education, complete the Midwifery Bridge Certificate in 6 accordance with the commissioner's regulations. 7 3. Examination: pass an examination satisfactory to the department and 8 in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. 9 4. Age: be at least twenty-one years of age. 10 5. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart- 11 ment. 12 6. Fee: pay a fee of one hundred fifteen dollars for an initial 13 license and a fee of one hundred dollars for each triennial registration 14 period. 15 § 6965. Exempt persons. Nothing in this article shall (a) affect, 16 prevent, expand, or limit any duty or responsibility of a physician, 17 midwife, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within the 18 professional's scope of practice, from practicing certified professional 19 midwifery; or (b) affect or prevent a medical student, midwifery 20 student, certified professional midwifery student, physician assistant 21 student, or nurse practitioner student from engaging in clinical prac- 22 tice in an educational program registered by the department, under the 23 supervision of a physician or board certified obstetrician/gynecologist 24 or midwife, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within 25 the professional's scope of practice. 26 § 2. Section 6953 of the education law, as added by chapter 327 of the 27 laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 28 § 6953. Use of title "midwife". Only a person licensed or exempt under 29 this article shall use the title "midwife". Only a person licensed 30 under both this article and article one hundred thirty-nine of this 31 [chapter] title may use the title "nurse-midwife". Only a person 32 authorized to use the title "certified professional midwife" under arti- 33 cle one hundred forty-A of this chapter may use the title "certified 34 professional midwife". 35 § 3. Section 6954 of the education law, as added by chapter 327 of the 36 laws of 1992, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 328 37 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 38 § 6954. State board of midwifery. 1. The state board of midwifery 39 shall be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the 40 commissioner for the purpose of assisting the board of regents on 41 matters of professional licensing and professional conduct in accordance 42 with section sixty-five hundred eight of this title. The board shall be 43 composed of [thirteen] eleven individuals. Initial appointments to the 44 board shall be such that the terms shall be staggered. However, no 45 members shall serve more than two terms. However, a vacant seat on the 46 board designated for an individual licensed to practice under article 47 one hundred forty-A of this title shall not be counted for purposes of a 48 quorum until it has been initially filled. 49 2. (a) [(1) Seven] Five members of the board shall be persons licensed 50 [or exempt] under this [section] article. 51 [(2)] (b) One member of the board shall be an educator of midwifery. 52 [(b)] (c) Two members of the board shall be persons licensed under 53 article one hundred forty-A of this title. 54 [Two members] (d) One member of the board shall be [individuals who55are] a licensed [physicians who are also] physician certified as 56 obstetrician/gynecologists by a national certifying body who demon-A. 4819--A 4 1 strates collaboration with persons licensed under articles one hundred 2 forty and one hundred forty-A of this title. 3 [(c)] (e) One member of the board shall be an individual licensed as a 4 physician who practices family medicine including obstetrics. 5 [(d) One member of the board shall be an individual licensed as a6physician who practices pediatrics.7(e)] (f) One member of the board shall be an individual not possessing 8 either licensure or training in medicine, midwifery, pharmacology or 9 nursing and shall represent the public at large. 10 3. For purposes of this article, "board" means the state board of 11 midwifery created under this section unless the context clearly indi- 12 cates otherwise. 13 § 4. The article heading of article 140 of the education law, as added 14 by chapter 327 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 15 [PROFESSIONAL] MIDWIFERY [PRACTICE ACT] 16 § 5. Subdivision 6 of section 571 of the public health law, as amended 17 by chapter 444 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 18 6. "Qualified health care professional" means a physician, dentist, 19 podiatrist, optometrist performing a clinical laboratory test that does 20 not use an invasive modality as defined in section seventy-one hundred 21 one of the education law, physician assistant, specialist assistant, 22 nurse practitioner, [or] midwife, or certified professional midwife, who 23 is licensed and registered with the state education department. 24 § 6. Subdivision 6 of section 571 of the public health law, as amended 25 by section 1 of part C of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, is amended to 26 read as follows: 27 6. "Qualified health care professional" means a physician, dentist, 28 podiatrist, optometrist performing a clinical laboratory test that does 29 not use an invasive modality as defined in section seventy-one hundred 30 one of the education law, pharmacist administering COVID-19 and influen- 31 za tests pursuant to subdivision seven of section sixty-eight hundred 32 one of the education law, physician assistant, specialist assistant, 33 nurse practitioner, [or] midwife, or certified professional midwife, who 34 is licensed and registered with the state education department. 35 § 7. This act shall take effect eighteen months after it shall have 36 become a law, provided however that the amendments to subdivision 6 of 37 section 571 of the public health law made by section six of this act 38 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision 39 pursuant to section 8 of part C of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, as 40 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section five of this act 41 shall take effect. Effective immediately, the commissioner of education 42 shall make regulations and take other actions reasonably necessary to 43 implement this act on the effective date of this act.
