Senator Geiss calls maternal-health bills a step toward equity; Senate passes the "Michigan Mominibus"

LANSING — Senator Geiss, sponsor of a multi-bill maternal-health package she called the "Michigan Mominibus," urged the Senate to approve a set of bills intended to address biased and unjust perinatal care, expand midwifery coverage, and strengthen reporting and review related to maternal outcomes.

"These bills ... paved the way for positive birthing experiences that are grounded in joy and love," Geiss said on the floor as she described provisions in Senate bills 29 through 34 and 36 through 39. She told colleagues the package would "dismantle systemic barriers that disproportionately impact black and brown birthing people" and would require new reporting, protections and coverage changes to improve perinatal outcomes.

Sponsor description and key provisions (as stated on the floor): the package would require the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to include studies and reports on biased or unjust perinatal care on its website and to codify duties of the maternal mortality review team; create a Biased and Unjust Care Reporting Act and direct DHHS to develop a patient self-reporting tool; require hospitals to demonstrate policies supporting patient protections and allowing patients to have a doula, spouse, or companion during labor; and, upon request from DHHS, have the Department of Insurance and Financial Services collect information on malpractice insurers' policies related to perinatal services. Geiss also said the bills would ensure pregnancy status does not affect a designated patient's ability to make life-sustaining decisions, amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to clarify protections that include pregnancy and lactation, add licensed midwives to the essential health provider repayment program, require private insurers to reimburse licensed midwives, and expand Medicaid coverage for certain perinatal services including off-site ultrasounds and fetal non-stress tests.

Geiss framed the package as the product of advocacy groups and cross-district collaboration. She noted the bills had bipartisan support in the prior term but did not advance in the House then; she argued the measures would improve accountability and access in maternal care.

The Senate recorded final passage for the bills in the package on April 15. For example, Senate Bill 29 passed with a roll-call tally announced by the secretary as 22 aye, 14 no, and 1 excused. Senate Bill 30 (the Biased and Unjust Care Reporting Act) also passed 22-14-1 as announced.

What’s next: the bills passed the Senate on final reading without floor amendments; sponsors said DHHS and other agencies would carry out reporting and implementation tasks as specified in the bills. The measures now move to the next steps in the legislative process.