HB0004ham002 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. LaToya Greenwood

Filed: 2/25/2020

10100HB0004ham002 LRB101 04058 KTG 70641 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by adding Section 5-18.5 as follows:

(305 ILCS 5/5-18.5 new)

Sec. 5-18.5. Doula and evidence-based home visiting services.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Cultural sensitivity" means a cultural sensitivity, cultural competence, implicit bias, cultural respect, or cultural humility course in the context of doula or pregnancy care.

"Home visiting" means a voluntary, evidence-based strategy used to support pregnant people, infants, and young children and their caregivers to promote infant, child, and maternal health, to foster educational development and school readiness, and to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Home visitors are trained professionals whose visits and activities focus on promoting strong parent-child attachment to foster healthy child development.

"Perinatal doula training" means any doula training that focuses on providing support throughout the prenatal, labor and delivery, or postpartum period, and reflects the type of doula care that the doula seeks to provide.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, doula services and evidence-based home visiting services shall be covered under the medical assistance program for persons who are otherwise eligible for medical assistance under this Article. As used in this Section, "perinatal doula" means a trained provider who provides regular, voluntary physical, emotional, and educational support, but not medical or midwife care, to pregnant and birthing persons before, during, and after childbirth, otherwise known as the perinatal period.

Perinatal doula services include regular visits beginning in the prenatal period and continuing into the postnatal period, inclusive of continuous support during labor and delivery, that support healthy pregnancies and positive birth outcomes. Perinatal doula services may be embedded in an existing program, such as evidence-based home visiting. Doula services provided during the prenatal period may be provided weekly, services provided during the labor and delivery period may be provided for the entire duration of labor and the time immediately following birth, and services provided during the postpartum period may be provided up to 12 months postpartum.

(c) To be eligible for reimbursement under this Section, the individual providing doula services must have completed perinatal doula training that includes topics such as: (1) health, safety, and well-being; (2) prenatal and early childhood development; (3) cultural sensitivity in the context of doula care; (4) family relationships; and (5) community partnerships. The individual must be willing to submit to a federal and State criminal history background check. If certified, the individual must be practicing within the scope and ethics of his or her certification.

(d) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall adopt rules to administer this Section. In this rulemaking, the Department shall consider the expertise of and consult with doula program experts, doula training providers, practicing doulas, and home visiting experts, along with State agencies implementing doula services and relevant bodies under the Illinois Early Learning Council. This body of experts shall inform the Department on the credentials necessary for a doula and home visitor to be certified as a Medicaid reimbursable service provider, the training programs that are acceptable, the length of each perinatal visit, and the rate of reimbursement for home visiting and doula services in the prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum periods. Every 2 years, the Department shall assess the rates of reimbursement for doula and home visiting services and adjust rates accordingly.

(e) The Department shall seek such State plan amendments or waivers as may be necessary to implement this Section and shall secure federal financial participation for expenditures made by the Department in accordance with this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2021.".