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 services in assessment, evaluation, problem identification, treatment, education, and consultation for childbearing families and infants up to twelve months old.

Starting January 1, 2027, all individual or group health insurance contracts and policies must include coverage for these services, ensuring that they are reimbursed in accordance with each health insurer's respective principles and mechanisms of reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting, provided the services are within the counselors' area of professional competence and are currently reimbursed when rendered by other healthcare providers.

The bill prohibits health insurers from requiring supervision, signatures, or referrals from other healthcare providers as a condition for reimbursement, except when such requirements are also applicable to other categories of healthcare providers. It also mandates that insurers report utilization and cost information related to lactation counselor services to the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner on or before July 1, 2027, and each July 1 thereafter. The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner will define the required utilization and cost information to be reported.

The bill specifies that it does not apply to certain types of insurance coverage, including hospital confinement indemnity, 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, 2027.