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Bill

S 784

Relates to the termination of certain subsidies provided to adoptive parents for disabled or hard to place children

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Roxanne Persaud

Creates a dedicated Midwifery Workforce Development Fund to fund education, training, loan forgiveness, retention, and parity for midwives, boosting birth centers and access.

SIGNED CHAP.6
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Bill Summary · S 784

Summary — S.784: An Act promoting and enhancing the sustainability of birth centers and the midwifery workforce

Status: Signed (Chap. 6). Introduced: Feb 27, 2025. Primary sponsor: Joan B. Lovely; multiple co-sponsors.

Note on source material: The available bill text focuses on strengthening midwifery and birth-center sustainability. Part of Section 2 is truncated in the provided text; this summary describes the complete Section 1 and the available portion of Section 2.

Purpose / Intent

The bill is intended to strengthen the midwifery workforce pipeline and support the financial sustainability of birth centers in Massachusetts by creating a dedicated funding mechanism, supporting education/training and retention, and addressing payment parity for midwifery services under certain state insurance arrangements.

Key provisions

1. Midwifery Workforce Development Fund (Chapter 10, new section 35UUU)

  • Establishes a separate, non-reverting Midwifery Workforce Development Fund administered by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), with administration (or part of it) delegable to an organization representing certified professional midwives.
  • Authorized revenue sources: legislative appropriations, federal maternal-health grants, interest, gifts/grants/donations/settlements, and other designated public/private funds.
  • Fund balance: unexpended balances do not revert to the General Fund and remain available for future fiscal years; fund must not be allowed to become deficient.

Permitted uses of fund proceeds:
- Financial assistance to students in midwifery education/training (tuition, books, program costs, distance learning, Midwifery Bridge Certificates).
- Costs for licensing and examinations.
- Stipends for program participants, including childcare and transportation.
- Student loan forgiveness program for certified professional midwives (CPMs) and certified nurse‑midwives (CNMs); program may require service in underserved areas or serving marginalized populations.
- Grants for local initiatives to develop midwifery education programs.
- Retention supports for practicing midwives, and mental health/psychosocial support for CPMs and CNMs.
- Other purposes consistent with fund goals, subject to advisory committee approval.

Reporting and oversight:
- Annual report due by December 1 to legislative clerks, relevant committees (Ways & Means; Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities), to be published on EOHHS/DPH website. Reports must include accounting of receipts/expenditures and fund balances; advisory committee may submit recommendations.

Advisory committee:
- Membership includes a chair (representative of MA chapter of the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives), representatives from the American College of Nurse‑Midwives, DPH Pregnancy/Infancy/Early Childhood Division, MA League of Community Health Centers, and chair‑selected members representing midwifery education, community colleges, reproductive justice/health equity organizations, safety‑net hospitals, and free‑standing birth centers.

2. Payment parity for midwifery services under the Group Insurance Commission (Chapter 32A, new section 17X — partial text)

  • The available text directs the Group Insurance Commission to ensure that payment rates for services provided to state active/retired employees by certified nurse‑midwives (within scope of practice) are no less than the payment rate for the same service when performed by a physician, regardless of site of service or length of stay.
  • Full language was truncated; additional parity or scope provisions (e.g., for licensed CPMs) may be contained in the remainder of Section 2.

Who is affected

  • Certified professional midwives (CPMs) and certified nurse‑midwives (CNMs) — prospective students and practicing clinicians.
  • Birth centers (free‑standing and community-based) and midwifery education programs.
  • Communities that are medically underserved and marginalized populations who may gain improved access to midwifery care.
  • State employees and retirees insured under the Group Insurance Commission (potentially through reimbursement parity).

Potential impact

  • Strengthens pipeline and retention of midwives through scholarships, stipends, loan forgiveness and mental-health supports.
  • Supports development and sustainability of birth centers and educational capacity (including community-college pathways).
  • Payment parity may increase reimbursement for midwifery services in the state insurance program, potentially improving integration of midwives into care delivery and access for patients.
  • Creates ongoing oversight and transparent reporting to the legislature.

Procedural notes

  • The bill was introduced in the Senate and lists multiple legislative actions and sponsors. The provided status indicates it was signed as Chapter 6. The bill requires annual reporting (Dec. 1) and authorizes EOHHS to administer or delegate fund management. Section 2 text available is partial; confirm final enacted text for complete payment‑parity provisions.

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

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