This bill amends various chapters of the General Laws related to health insurance to require coverage for services provided by licensed certified lactation counselors, effective January 1, 2026. It defines a licensed certified lactation counselor as a trained professional certified by the Department of Health, who offers lactation care and services to childbearing families and infants up to twelve months old.

The bill mandates that all individual or group health insurance contracts must include coverage for these services, ensuring that they are reimbursed in accordance with each health insurer's principles and mechanisms of reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting, provided the services are within the lactation counselors' area of professional competence and are currently reimbursed when rendered by other healthcare providers. Additionally, it prohibits insurers from requiring supervision, signatures, or referrals from other healthcare providers as a condition for reimbursement, and it prevents duplicate payments for services rendered by both lactation counselors and other providers.

Furthermore, the bill requires health insurance contracts to report utilization and cost information related to lactation counselor services to the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner on or before July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter. The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner will define the required utilization and cost information to be reported. However, the coverage requirements do not apply to certain types of insurance policies, including those providing benefits for hospital confinement, disability income, accident only, long-term care, Medicare supplement, limited benefit health, specified disease indemnity, and other limited benefit policies. Overall, this legislation aims to enhance access to lactation support for families while ensuring proper reimbursement and reporting mechanisms are in place.