This bill amends various chapters of the General Laws to require that all individual or group health insurance contracts, as well as hospital or medical expense insurance policies, provide coverage for services rendered by certified professional midwives (CPMs) starting January 1, 2026. A certified professional midwife is defined as a trained professional who has successfully completed an accredited educational program in midwifery, holds a current certification from the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), and is licensed to practice midwifery in accordance with state law.

The bill specifies that insurers must cover CPM services in accordance with their respective principles and mechanisms of reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting, provided the services are within the CPM's area of professional competence as defined by the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) and are currently reimbursed when rendered by other healthcare providers. Insurers cannot impose additional requirements such as supervision, signature, or referral by other healthcare providers for reimbursement, except when such requirements are also applicable to other categories of healthcare providers. Furthermore, insurers and patients are not required to pay for duplicate services rendered by both a licensed certified professional midwife and any other healthcare provider.

Additionally, health insurance contracts that cover CPM services must report utilization and cost information related to these services to the office of the health insurance commissioner on or before July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. The office of the health insurance commissioner will define the required utilization and cost information.

The coverage mandate does not apply to certain limited benefit policies, including those for hospital confinement indemnity, disability income, accident-only insurance, long-term care, Medicare supplement, limited benefit health, specified disease indemnity, and other limited benefit policies. The provisions of this bill will supersede and control over any conflicting or inconsistent laws, including general laws, special laws, or local laws, as well as any state rules or regulations.