Committee hears testimony on bill to add accredited maternity centers to Kansas healthcare stabilization fund

House Bill 2335 would add maternity centers that hold accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Birth Centers to the definition of "health care provider" under the Healthcare Provider Insurance Availability Act, amending KSA 40-3401. Jenna, committee staff, opened the hearing and described the bill’s effect and history, saying in part that the bill "adds maternity centers to the definition of healthcare provider in the healthcare stabilization fund" and that it "would go into effect on July 1."

Kendra Wyatt, the retired owner-operator of New Birth Company, testified in favor of the bill. Wyatt said the change is a technical fix that would allow maternity centers accredited by the national accreditor to access the Healthcare Stabilization Fund and thereby obtain facility malpractice coverage as a provider-of-last-resort. Wyatt said the last private insurer underwriting facility malpractice for birth centers left the market in 2021, and that lack of coverage contributed to closures, including a center in Kansas City, Kansas. "When they left the market that caused the birth center in Kansas City, Kansas ... to abruptly close," Wyatt testified. She added that the Overland Park center later closed, citing KanCare reimbursement levels and difficulty obtaining liability insurance.

Wyatt told the committee the bill has passed the House unanimously in prior years and described it as "a very small technical detail" with the objective to "create safe access for women seeking low risk, natural childbirth." Jenna told the committee the bill previously had been considered in earlier sessions. No committee amendments were offered during the hearing portion on HB 2335, and committee members asked questions about the bill's legislative history and prior attempts to pass it. The committee closed the hearing on HB 2335 without taking final action during this meeting.