LCO 1 of 6
General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7214
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING MATERNAL HEALTH.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a perinatal 1
mental health task force to study and make recommendations regarding 2
the improvement of perinatal mental health care services in the state. 3
Such study shall include, but need not be limited to, an examination of 4
the following: 5
(1) Populations vulnerable to and risk factors associated with 6
perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; 7
(2) Evidence-based and promising treatment practices for persons at 8
risk of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including, but not limited 9
to, treatment practices involving peer support specialists and 10
community health workers, that promote (A) access to perinatal mood 11
and anxiety disorder screening, diagnosis, intervention, treatment, 12
recovery and prevention, and (B) improved care coordination, systems 13
navigation and case management services that address and eliminate 14
barriers to perinatal mood and anxiety disorder treatment; 15
(3) Evidence-informed practices that are culturally congruent and 16
accessible that promote the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities 17
in the prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment of and the 18 Substitute Bill No. 7214
LCO 2 of 6
recovery from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; 19
(4) National and global models that successfully promote access to 20
perinatal mood and anxiety disorder screening, diagnosis, treatment, 21
recovery and prevention for pregnant or postpartum persons and their 22
partners; 23
(5) Community-based or multigenerational practices that support 24
people affected by perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; 25
(6) Workforce development initiatives that have successfully 26
promoted the hiring, training and retention of perinatal mental health 27
care providers, including, but not limited to, initiatives that have 28
focused on maximizing nontraditional mental health supports, 29
including, but not limited to, peer support and community health 30
services; 31
(7) Models for private and public funding of perinatal mental health 32
care initiatives; and 33
(8) An analysis of (A) available perinatal mental health care 34
programs, treatments and services, (B) notable innovations in perinatal 35
mental health care treatment, and (C) gaps in the provision and 36
coordination of perinatal mental health care services that affect the 37
diverse perinatal experiences of unique populations, including, but not 38
limited to, black persons and other persons of color, immigrants, 39
adolescents who are pregnant and parenting, LGBTQIA+ persons, child 40
welfare-involved persons, disabled persons, justice-involved persons, 41
incarcerated persons and homeless persons and their partners. 42
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 43
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 44
each of whom shall be (A) a person with current or past perinatal mood 45
and anxiety disorders, (B) a caregiver or partner of a person with current 46
or past perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, or (C) an advocate with 47
expertise in perinatal mental health care in the state and who has 48 Substitute Bill No. 7214
LCO 3 of 6
received perinatal mood and anxiety disorder treatment; 49
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 50
whom shall represent a managed care organization in the state and one 51
of whom shall be a registered nurse with expertise in providing 52
perinatal mental health care services in the state; 53
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of 54
Representatives, one of whom shall be a pediatrician, licensed pursuant 55
to chapter 370 of the general statutes, with expertise in providing 56
perinatal mental health care services in the state and one of whom shall 57
be an obstetrician, licensed pursuant to chapter 370 of the general 58
statutes, with expertise in providing perinatal mental health care 59
services in the state; 60
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom 61
shall be a psychologist, licensed pursuant to chapter 383 of the general 62
statutes, and one of whom shall be a psychiatrist, licensed pursuant to 63
chapter 370 of the general statutes, who provide perinatal mental health 64
care services; 65
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of 66
Representatives, one of whom shall be a clinical social worker, licensed 67
pursuant to chapter 383b of the general statutes, who specializes in 68
treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and who has completed 69
Postpartum Support International's Components of Care training 70
program and one of whom shall be a certified doula, as defined in 71
section 20-86aa of the general statutes; 72
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom 73
shall be a nurse-midwife, licensed pursuant to chapter 377 of the general 74
statutes, and one of whom shall represent a home visiting program in 75
the state; 76
(7) The Commissioner of Children and Families, or the 77
commissioner's designee; 78 Substitute Bill No. 7214
LCO 4 of 6
(8) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 79
designee; and 80
(9) Two persons appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a 81
representative of an organization that seeks to increase support and 82
provide resources for women and their families during pregnancy and 83
the postpartum period, increase awareness of the mental health 84
challenges related to childbearing and parenting and provide perinatal 85
mental training for childbirth professionals and one of whom shall be 86
an international board certified lactation consultant. 87
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 88
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 89
of the General Assembly. 90
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 91
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 92
be filled by the appointing authority. 93
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 94
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 95
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 96
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 97
days after the effective date of this section. 98
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 99
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 100
health shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 101
(g) Not later than October 1, 2026, the task force shall submit a report 102
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 103
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 104
health, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 105
statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such 106
report or October 1, 2026, whichever is later. 107
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) The Commissioner of 108 Substitute Bill No. 7214
LCO 5 of 6
Public Health shall establish an annual maternity care report card for 109
birth centers, licensed pursuant to section 19a-566 of the general 110
statutes, and hospitals, licensed pursuant to chapter 368v of the general 111
statutes, that provide obstetric care that will evaluate maternity care 112
provided at such birth centers and hospitals. The commissioner shall 113
identify and collect any data necessary to complete such report card. 114
Such report card shall include, but need not be limited to, quantitative 115
metrics, qualitative measures based on patient-reported experiences 116
and an equity score and grade for each birth center and hospital 117
disaggregated by race, ethnicity and income level. The commissioner 118
shall adjust report card scores based on the acuity level of obstetric 119
patients served by each birth center and hospital to ensure fair 120
comparisons between facilities. The commissioner shall post the report 121
card not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, on the 122
Department of Public Health's Internet web site. The commissioner shall 123
revise the report card criteria at least once every three years and consult 124
experts regarding the revision of any such criteria. 125
(b) The commissioner shall establish an advisory committee to 126
establish quantitative metrics, qualitative measures and a grading 127
methodology for the report card. Such grading methodology shall 128
reflect disparities in obstetric care and outcomes across patient 129
demographics. After the posting of each report card, such advisory 130
committee shall conduct a critical analysis of the report card's data and 131
develop and issue recommendations to birth centers and hospitals to 132
improve maternal health outcomes and report card performance. 133
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioner of Public Health 134
shall convene an advisory committee to conduct a study to evaluate the 135
benefits and challenges of making hospitals more doula-friendly and 136
develop legislative recommendations to make hospitals more doula-137
friendly. The advisory committee shall include representatives of the 138
Department of Public Health, hospital administrators, practicing 139
doulas, including, but not limited to, community-based doulas, 140
maternal health advocates, obstetricians, midwives, Medicaid and 141
insurance policy experts and representatives from communities 142 Substitute Bill No. 7214
LCO 6 of 6
disproportionately affected by lack of doula support. Such study shall 143
include, but need not be limited to, (1) an assessment of existing hospital 144
policies regarding doula access and the impact of doulas on birth 145
outcomes, (2) identification of systemic, financial and institutional 146
challenges that prevent doulas from being fully incorporated into 147
hospital maternity care, (3) an examination of successful doula-friendly 148
hospital policies implemented in other jurisdictions, (4) data analysis on 149
how doula support affects maternal mortality, caesarean section rates, 150
patient satisfaction and birth equity, (5) an examination of financial 151
models for reimbursement for doula services, including, but not limited 152
to, Medicaid and private insurance, and (6) consultations with (A) 153
hospitals, obstetric providers and doulas on collaboration and 154
implementation challenges relating to doula support in obstetric care, 155
and (B) pregnant and postpartum persons, especially those from 156
underserved populations, on their experiences and needs regarding 157
doula support. 158
(b) Not later than February 1, 2026, the commissioner shall submit a 159
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 160
statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 161
having cognizance of matters relating to public health regarding the 162
findings and recommendations of the study conducted by the advisory 163
committee pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. 164
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a)(6), "Successful" was deleted to eliminate redundant
language.
PH Joint Favorable Subst.