This bill amends various chapters of the General Laws to establish coverage for services provided by licensed certified lactation counselors, who are trained professionals certified by the Department of Health. The bill defines the role of these counselors, emphasizing their ability to provide lactation care and services to childbearing families and infants up to twelve months old. Starting January 1, 2026, all individual or group health insurance contracts and policies must include coverage for these services, ensuring that they are reimbursed in accordance with the health insurers' respective 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, insurers cannot impose requirements for supervision, signatures, or referrals from other healthcare providers as a condition for reimbursement, nor can they require duplicate payments for services rendered by both a lactation counselor and another provider.

The bill also mandates that health insurance contracts 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 utilization and cost information required 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. The act is set to take effect on January 1, 2026.