STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2058 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law and the public health law, in relation to veteran maternity care; to repeal certain provisions of the veterans' services law relating thereto; and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the veterans' services law and the public health law relating to establishing a maternity care coordination program for pregnant and postpartum veterans, as proposed in legisla- tive bills numbers S. 9259 and A. 8162-A, in relation to the effec- tiveness thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 19 of the veter- 2 ans' services law is amended to read as follows: 3 (c) liaison between the department, the United States Department of 4 Veterans Affairs center for women veterans, the United States Department 5 of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, state veterans 6 nursing homes, state agencies, community groups, advocates and other 7 veterans and military organizations and interested parties and, as it 8 pertains to the veteran maternity care program established pursuant to 9 section twenty-nine-c of this article, the commissioners of health and 10 mental health, hospitals, federal, state, and local health officials, 11 obstetricians, midwives, pediatricians, veterans and veterans advocates; 12 § 2. Section 29-b of the veterans' services law, as added by a chapter 13 of the laws of 2024 amending the veterans' services law and the public 14 health law relating to establishing a maternity care coordination 15 program for pregnant and postpartum veterans, as proposed in legislative 16 bills numbers S. 9259 and A. 8162-A, is renumbered section 29-c and 17 subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of such section are amended to read as 18 follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02718-01-5
A. 2058 2 1 1. Serving as a liaison between the United States department of veter- 2 ans affairs (VA) including VA maternity care coordinators located in the 3 state, the department of health and the office of mental health to 4 facilitate better coordination of veteran maternity care in the state 5 and cooperation in addressing issues related to veteran reproductive 6 mental health care; 7 2. [Providing] Disseminating available information to maternity care 8 providers and expectant veterans regarding identifying and treating 9 common mental and physical conditions experienced by veterans that can 10 heighten the risk of pregnancy complications; 11 3. Providing guidance and referral information on maternity care and 12 benefits available to veterans including the VA's maternity care coordi- 13 nation program at all events including but not limited to, seminars 14 required under subdivision six of section four of this article; 15 4. [Developing a system for rapid consultation and referral linkage 16 services for obstetricians and primary care providers statewide who 17 provide care for expectant veterans with service-connected disabilities 18 that may impact a veteran's maternal health; 19 5.] Providing [guidance on the identification of] resources on identi- 20 fying the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions in expectant 21 veterans to maternity care providers; 22 [6.] 5. Raising awareness among maternity care providers of the feder- 23 al Veterans Community Care Program established pursuant to 38 U.S.C § 24 1703 and considering ways to encourage and incentivize participation in 25 such program. The coordinator shall make information relevant to such 26 providers available on the department's website, including but not 27 limited to, links to [the] any continuing medical education material or 28 courses for non-department medical professionals provided on the inter- 29 net website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 30 section 123 of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening 31 Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018 (P.L.115-182); 32 § 3. Subdivisions 7, 8, 9 of section 29-c of the veterans' services 33 law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the veterans' 34 services law relating to establishing a maternity care coordination 35 program for pregnant and postpartum veterans, as proposed in legislative 36 bills numbers S. 9259 and A. 8162-A, and such section as renumbered by 37 section two of this act, are REPEALED. 38 § 4. Subparagraphs (iv), (vi) and (vii) of paragraph (a) of subdivi- 39 sion 2 of section 2509-d of the public health law, as added by a chapter 40 of the laws of 2024 amending the veterans' services law and the public 41 health law relating to establishing a maternity care coordination 42 program for pregnant and postpartum veterans, as proposed in legislative 43 bills numbers S. 9259 and A. 8162-A, are amended to read as follows: 44 (iv) validated, evidence-based tools for screening the conditions 45 listed in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph; and 46 [(vi)] (v) information about follow-up support for patients who may 47 require further evaluation, referral, or treatment including, when 48 available, information about specific community resources and entities 49 licensed by the office of mental health[; and 50 (vii) information on engaging support for the veteran, which may 51 include communicating with the other parent of the child and other fami- 52 ly members, as appropriate and consistent with patient confidentiality]. 53 § 5. Section 5 of a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the veterans' 54 services law and the public health law relating to establishing a mater- 55 nity care coordination program for pregnant and postpartum veterans, as
A. 2058 3 1 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 9259 and A. 8162-A, is amended 2 to read as follows: 3 § 5. This act shall take effect [on the ninetieth day] one year after 4 it shall have become a law. 5 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, 6 sections one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect on the 7 same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amend- 8 ing the veterans' services law and the public health law relating to 9 establishing a maternity care coordination program for pregnant and 10 postpartum veterans, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 9259 11 and A. 8162-A, takes effect.