Rep. LaToya Greenwood
Filed: 2/25/2020
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4
| ||||||
| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| ||||||
| 4 | "Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | ||||||
| 5 | adding Section 5-18.5 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (305 ILCS 5/5-18.5 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 5-18.5. Doula and evidence-based home visiting | ||||||
| 8 | services. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) As used in this Section: | ||||||
| 10 | "Cultural sensitivity" means a cultural sensitivity, | ||||||
| 11 | cultural competence, implicit bias, cultural respect, or | ||||||
| 12 | cultural humility course in the context of doula or pregnancy | ||||||
| 13 | care. | ||||||
| 14 | "Home visiting" means a voluntary, evidence-based strategy | ||||||
| 15 | used to support pregnant people, infants, and young children | ||||||
| 16 | and their caregivers to promote infant, child, and maternal | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | health, to foster educational development and school | ||||||
| 2 | readiness, and to help prevent child abuse and neglect. Home | ||||||
| 3 | visitors are trained professionals whose visits and activities | ||||||
| 4 | focus on promoting strong parent-child attachment to foster | ||||||
| 5 | healthy child development. | ||||||
| 6 | "Perinatal doula training" means any doula training that | ||||||
| 7 | focuses on providing support throughout the prenatal, labor and | ||||||
| 8 | delivery, or postpartum period, and reflects the type of doula | ||||||
| 9 | care that the doula seeks to provide. | ||||||
| 10 | (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, | ||||||
| 11 | doula services and evidence-based home visiting services shall | ||||||
| 12 | be covered under the medical assistance program for persons who | ||||||
| 13 | are otherwise eligible for medical assistance under this | ||||||
| 14 | Article. As used in this Section, "perinatal doula" means a | ||||||
| 15 | trained provider who provides regular, voluntary physical, | ||||||
| 16 | emotional, and educational support, but not medical or midwife | ||||||
| 17 | care, to pregnant and birthing persons before, during, and | ||||||
| 18 | after childbirth, otherwise known as the perinatal period. | ||||||
| 19 | Perinatal doula services include regular visits beginning | ||||||
| 20 | in the prenatal period and continuing into the postnatal | ||||||
| 21 | period, inclusive of continuous support during labor and | ||||||
| 22 | delivery, that support healthy pregnancies and positive birth | ||||||
| 23 | outcomes. Perinatal doula services may be embedded in an | ||||||
| 24 | existing program, such as evidence-based home visiting. Doula | ||||||
| 25 | services provided during the prenatal period may be provided | ||||||
| 26 | weekly, services provided during the labor and delivery period | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | may be provided for the entire duration of labor and the time | ||||||
| 2 | immediately following birth, and services provided during the | ||||||
| 3 | postpartum period may be provided up to 12 months postpartum. | ||||||
| 4 | (c) To be eligible for reimbursement under this Section, | ||||||
| 5 | the individual providing doula services must have completed | ||||||
| 6 | perinatal doula training that includes topics such as: (1) | ||||||
| 7 | health, safety, and well-being; (2) prenatal and early | ||||||
| 8 | childhood development; (3) cultural sensitivity in the context | ||||||
| 9 | of doula care; (4) family relationships; and (5) community | ||||||
| 10 | partnerships. The individual must be willing to submit to a | ||||||
| 11 | federal and State criminal history background check. If | ||||||
| 12 | certified, the individual must be practicing within the scope | ||||||
| 13 | and ethics of his or her certification. | ||||||
| 14 | (d) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall | ||||||
| 15 | adopt rules to administer this Section. In this rulemaking, the | ||||||
| 16 | Department shall consider the expertise of and consult with | ||||||
| 17 | doula program experts, doula training providers, practicing | ||||||
| 18 | doulas, and home visiting experts, along with State agencies | ||||||
| 19 | implementing doula services and relevant bodies under the | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois Early Learning Council. This body of experts shall | ||||||
| 21 | inform the Department on the credentials necessary for a doula | ||||||
| 22 | and home visitor to be certified as a Medicaid reimbursable | ||||||
| 23 | service provider, the training programs that are acceptable, | ||||||
| 24 | the length of each perinatal visit, and the rate of | ||||||
| 25 | reimbursement for home visiting and doula services in the | ||||||
| 26 | prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum periods. Every 2 | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | years, the Department shall assess the rates of reimbursement | ||||||
| 2 | for doula and home visiting services and adjust rates | ||||||
| 3 | accordingly. | ||||||
| 4 | (e) The Department shall seek such State plan amendments or | ||||||
| 5 | waivers as may be necessary to implement this Section and shall | ||||||
| 6 | secure federal financial participation for expenditures made | ||||||
| 7 | by the Department in accordance with this Section.
| ||||||
| 8 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
| 9 | 2021.".
| ||||||