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MAC briefed on bills affecting midwifery, including AB55, AB836 and SB626
Summary
Medical Board staff summarized pending legislation the council may wish to track: the board's sponsored treatment and monitoring program (AB408), AB55 (Freedom to Birth Act), AB836 (midwifery education study), SB626 (perinatal mental health screening) and SB669 (standby perinatal services pilot).
Aaron Bone, the board's chief of legislation and public affairs, updated the Midwifery Advisory Council on several bills introduced in the current legislative session that bear on midwifery practice and maternal care.
He described the board's sponsored bill (included in Assembly Bill 408) to authorize a health and wellness program offering treatment and monitoring for licensees with substance‑use or other health conditions that may impair practice. He also summarized other bills of interest:
- AB 55 (Assemblymember Asm. Rebbonta) — the "Freedom to Birth" bill that would ease certain Department of Public Health requirements for alternative birth center licensure, replace a proximity requirement with a required written hospital transfer policy, and update Medi‑Cal reimbursement language for alternative birth centers.
- AB 836 (Assemblymember Catherine Stefani) — would direct the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) to conduct a statewide study on midwifery education and consider innovations that might allow nurse‑midwives and licensed midwives to train together with separate exit requirements.
- SB 626 (Sen. Smallwood Cuevas) — would require perinatal care practitioners to screen, diagnose and treat perinatal mental health conditions in accordance with ACOG clinical guidance; as drafted, it would include licensed midwives.
- SB 669 (Sen. McGuire) — would direct the Department of Public Health to develop a five‑year pilot allowing critical access and small rural hospitals to establish standby perinatal medical services and consult with stakeholders, including licensed midwives.
Bone answered members' questions about AB55's transfer language and pointed to cross‑references in the Business and Professions Code (transcript citations included). Council members urged licensed midwives and stakeholder groups to liaise with bill sponsors and trade organizations when appropriate.
No formal MAC position or vote was taken at this meeting; staff said it would continue to brief the council on developments and return with updates.
