CHAPTER 57
Legislative Research Commission PDF Version
1
CHAPTER 57
( SB 135 )
AN ACT relating to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 211 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall, in cooperation with maternal and infant health and
mental health professional societies:
(a) Develop written information on perinatal mental health disorders and make it available on its website
for access by birthing centers, hospitals that provide labor and delivery services, and the public; and
(b) Provide access on its website to one (1) or more evidence-based clinical assessment tools designed to
detect the symptoms of perinatal mental health disorders for use by health care providers providing
perinatal care and health care providers providing pediatric infant care.
(2) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall establish a collaborative panel composed of
representatives of health care facilities that provide obstetrical and newborn care, maternal and infant
health care providers, maternal mental health providers, representatives of university mental health
training programs, maternal health advocates, women with experience living with perinatal mental health
disorders, and other stakeholders for the purposes of:
(a) Improving the quality of prevention and treatment of perinatal mental health disorders;
(b) Promoting the implementation of evidence-based bundles of care to improve patient safety;
(c) Identifying unaddressed gaps in service related to perinatal mental health disorders that are linked to
geographic, racial, and ethnic inequalities; lack of screenings; and insufficient access to treatments,
professionals, or support groups; and
(d) Exploring grant and other funding opportunities and making recommendations for funding
allocations to address the need for services and supports for perinatal mental health disorders.
(3) The objectives set forth in subsection (2)(a) to (d) of this section may be achieved by incorporating the
panel's findings and recommendations into other programs administered by the Cabinet for Health and
Family Services that are intended to improve maternal health care quality and safety.
(4) On or before November 1 of each year, the panel shall submit a report to the Interim Joint Committee on
Health, Welfare, and Family Services and the Advisory Council for Medicaid Services describing the
panel's work and any recommendations to address identified gaps in services and supports for perinatal
mental health disorders.
Section 2. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is hereby directed to, no later than November 1,
2023, prepare and submit to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services a state plan amendment
application to provide medical assistance, to the fullest extent permitted under federal law, including but not limited
to 42 U.S.C. sec. 1396a, for inpatient and outpatient services provided by a residential pediatric recovery center.
Section 3. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall, in accordance with KRS 205.525, provide a
copy of the state plan amendment submitted pursuant to Section 2 of this Act to the Interim Joint Committee on
Health, Welfare, and Family Services and the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue and shall
provide an update on the status of the state plan amendment application upon request.
Section 4. In the event the Legislative Research Commission dissolves the Interim Joint Committee on
Health, Welfare, and Family Services and establishes another interim joint committee or multiple interim joint
committees with jurisdiction over health services or families and children, the reports required in Sections 1 and 3 of
this Act shall be submitted to that interim joint committee.
Signed by Governor March 22, 2023.