SB191INTRODUCED
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SB191
W1ZDJ59-1
By Senators Figures, Coleman-Madison, Coleman, Weaver
RFD: Healthcare
First Read: 20-Feb-25
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5 W1ZDJ59-1 02/19/2025 JC (L)lg 2025-730
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First Read: 20-Feb-25
SYNOPSIS:
There is no provision in existing law that
requires the assessment of mothers after giving birth
for postpartum depression.
This bill would require the Alabama Medicaid
Agency to cover screening and would also regulate how
Medicaid covers prescription drugs used to treat
postpartum depression.
This bill would further require the Alabama
Department of Public Health to develop educational
materials on postpartum depression for health care
professionals and parents of newborns. Doctors and
other health care professionals would be required to
assess birth mothers for postpartum depression as part
of postnatal or pediatric care.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to postpartum depression; to add Section
22-6-15 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to require Medicaid
coverage for screening for postpartum depression; to add
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coverage for screening for postpartum depression; to add
Section 22-6-125 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to prohibit step
parity protocol for drugs used to treat postpartum depression
in Medicaid patients; to add Section 22-20-3.3 to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to provide for educational materials concerning
postpartum depression; and to add Section 22-20-3.4 to the
Code of Alabama 1975, to require assessment for postpartum
depression as a part of postnatal care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 22-6-15, 22-6-125, 22-20-3.3, and
22-20-3.4 are added to the Code of Alabama 1975, to read as
follows:
§22-6-15
The Alabama Medicaid Agency shall provide coverage for
postpartum depression screening consistent with the following
goals:
(1) The screening complies with evidence-based
guidelines.
(2) Eligible women have broad access to screening
services.
(3) Reimbursement is adequate to compensate health care
professionals who perform the screening.
§22-6-125
(a) For the purposes of this section, "step therapy
protocol" means a protocol, policy, or program in the
administration of medically appropriate prescription drugs to
a patient, which establishes a specific sequence in which the
drugs are approved for coverage.
(b) The Alabama Medicaid Agency may not impose a step
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(b) The Alabama Medicaid Agency may not impose a step
therapy protocol with respect to prescription drugs that are
approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for the
treatment of postpartum depression.
§22-20-3.3
(a)(1) The Alabama Department of Public Health shall
develop written materials to educate health care professionals
and patients about maternal mental health conditions,
especially postpartum depression.
(2) The materials shall include information on the
symptoms, coping methods, treatment options, and resources for
postpartum depression.
(3) The Alabama Department of Public Health shall
periodically review the materials to determine their
effectiveness and ensure that they contain current and
accurate information, including, but not limited to, clinical
practice guidelines, peer-reviewed studies, and
recommendations from experts in maternal mental health care,
including the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, from professional societies, and from patient
advocacy groups.
(b) The Alabama Department of Public Health shall post
the materials on its website and make the materials available
in printed form for distribution.
(c) Hospitals shall provide the materials developed
under this section to parents or family members of a newborn
upon discharge.
(d) Hospitals as defined in Section 22-21-20,
physicians, or health care professionals licensed under
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physicians, or health care professionals licensed under
Chapter 24 of Title 34 or Article 5 of Chapter 21 of Title 34,
shall not have legal liability or responsibility for claims
resulting from providing, or failing to provide, the
information on maternal mental health conditions, including
postpartum depression, developed pursuant to this section.
§22-20-3.4
(a) A physician or other health care professional
licensed under Chapter 24 of Title 34 or Article 5 of Chapter
21 of Title 34, when rendering postnatal or pediatric infant
care, shall assess a birth mother for postpartum depression.
(b) A physician or other health care professional
licensed under Chapter 24 of Title 34 or Article 5 of Chapter
21 of Title 34, shall exercise professional judgment in
recommending or not recommending any treatment that he or she
believes is in the best interest of the birth mother.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
establish a standard of care for physicians or other health
care professionals licensed under Chapter 24 of Title 34 or
Article 5 of Chapter 21 of Title 34, or otherwise modify,
amend, or supersede any provision of the Alabama Medical
Liability Act of 1996, or any amendment thereto, or any
judicial interpretation thereof.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2025.
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