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H 3875

Midwives and Birthing Centers

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Mike Burns and 3 co-sponsors

The bill directs the Department of Public Health to regulate and integrate midwives and birthing centers into perinatal care, establishing 24/7 physician consultation, transfer pro

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Sanders
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Bill Summary · H 3875

Summary — H 3875: “Perinatal Integration Act of 2025” (Midwives and Birthing Centers)

Note: The bill packet provided contains two different texts (one concerning a Massachusetts veterans research trust fund and another titled the “Perinatal Integration Act of 2025” for South Carolina). The operative provisions summarized below address the Perinatal Integration Act language (integration of midwives and birthing centers), which matches the bill title “Midwives and Birthing Centers.”

Purpose

To require the state Department of Public Health to promulgate regulations that formally integrate midwives and birthing centers into the state’s regulatory framework for perinatal levels of care—facilitating collaboration, establishing transfer protocols, and improving coordination between community-based birth settings and hospitals.

Key provisions

  • Adds a new section (proposed Section 44‑89‑110) to Chapter 89, Title 44 of the South Carolina Code.
  • Defines terms:
    • “Integrate” — to facilitate full exercise of scope of practice, autonomy, self‑regulation, collaboration, and smooth transitions between midwives, birthing centers, and hospitals (explicitly not to mean supervision).
    • “Perinatal levels of care” — regulatory implementation of perinatal services.
  • Requires the Department of Public Health to promulgate regulations that:
    1. Recognize midwives within the definition of facilities and integrate midwives and birthing centers into perinatal levels‑of‑care organization.
    2. Ensure access to physician‑to‑provider consultation 24 hours a day.
    3. Establish transfer methods and protocols from a midwife or birthing center to a hospital within a 50‑mile radius that provides level‑one or higher perinatal services.
    4. Provide access to professional continuing education on safe transfers and escalation of care.
    5. Require collection of data on transfer outcomes to evaluate transfer safety and effectiveness.
  • Explicit limitations:
    • Regulations may not restrict scope of practice, alter licensure requirements, or impose new regulation on midwives or birthing centers other than transfer methods/protocols.
    • Hospitals are not required to grant admitting privileges to midwives.
  • Effective date: upon approval by the Governor.

Who is affected

  • Certified/licensed midwives and birthing centers (recognition and integration into perinatal system).
  • Hospitals that provide perinatal services (expected to receive transfers and coordinate with community providers).
  • Pregnant people and neonates—potentially improved safety and continuity of care, especially in rural/underserved areas.
  • Department of Public Health (rulemaking, data collection oversight).

Procedural status & timeline (from provided actions)

  • Introduced/first read: 01/30/2025.
  • Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs (and related committee entries show Veterans & Federal Affairs in the packet — see note below).
  • Hearing scheduled: 07/22/2025, 1:00 PM–5:00 PM (A‑2).
  • Sponsors listed: Gagnon (primary), Burns (primary); Member Sanders added as sponsor 02/11/2025.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Intended to improve care coordination and safety of transfers from community settings to hospitals, with emphasis on 24/7 consult access and standardized transfer protocols.
  • Data collection requirement could enable evaluation of transfer outcomes and inform future policy.
  • Implementation will require rulemaking by DPH; effectiveness depends on clarity of regulations, hospital cooperation, workforce capacity, and resources for training and data systems.
  • While preventing new licensure limits, practical integration may still be affected by hospital willingness to accept transfers, available transport resources, and interpretation of “recognize midwives within the definition of facilities.”

Notes on document discrepancies

  • The provided packet includes an unrelated Massachusetts bill text (establishing a Veterans Research Trust Fund). Confirm the intended jurisdiction (South Carolina appears to be the context for the Perinatal Integration Act) before using this summary for formal analysis or advocacy.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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