Senate committee reviews bill to license freestanding birth centers

The Senate Committee on Health & Welfare considered S.18, a bill to license freestanding birth centers and to direct state agencies to seek Medicaid coverage for services provided in those centers.

Sen. Martina Rob Gulick, sponsor of S.18, told the committee the bill would create a new chapter in Title 18 to establish licensing standards for freestanding birth centers, facilities that ‘‘are not a hospital or part of a hospital’’ and that provide prenatal, labor, delivery and postpartum care for planned low‑risk births. ‘‘We are 1 of only 8 states in the entire country without a freestanding birthing center,’’ Gulick said.

Supporters and staff said the bill borrows the licensure structure already used for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. Office of Legislative Counsel staff member Jen Hardwick summarized the…