House File 334 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 334 BY BERGAN A BILL FOR An Act relating to coverage for the CenteringPregnancy model of 1 group prenatal care under the Medicaid program. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2134YH (3) 90 pf/rh

H.F. 334 Section 1. MEDICAID GROUP PRENATAL CARE —— 1 CENTERINGPREGNANCY MODEL. 2 1. The general assembly finds all of the following: 3 a. CenteringPregnancy is an evidence-based model of group 4 prenatal care that has been shown to improve birth outcomes for 5 both mothers and babies. 6 b. Research indicates that the benefits of 7 CenteringPregnancy include increased birth weights, increased 8 rates of breastfeeding, reduced risk of pre-term pregnancies, 9 and reduced risk of gestational diabetes. 10 c. Across studies, CenteringPregnancy reduces the odds 11 of premature birth, the single largest contributor to infant 12 mortality, by between thirty-three and forty-seven percent. 13 d. CenteringPregnancy provides even greater benefits 14 to certain high-risk populations and can be effective at 15 reducing health disparities related to race, ethnicity, and 16 socioeconomic status. 17 e. By reducing the rate of negative birth outcomes, 18 CenteringPregnancy prevents high-cost medical interventions and 19 reduces overall costs of care. 20 f. Expanding patient access to CenteringPregnancy within 21 Iowa’s Medicaid program will simultaneously improve population 22 health outcomes and reduce overall costs of health care 23 delivery. 24 2. The department of health and human services shall submit 25 any state plan amendment or waiver to the centers for Medicare 26 and Medicaid services of the United States department of 27 health and human services as necessary for approval to include 28 group prenatal care based on the CenteringPregnancy model as a 29 covered service under the Medicaid program. 30 3. Expenses of a provider for group prenatal care shall be 31 reimbursed provided that all of the following criteria are met: 32 a. The provider, including but not limited to a federally 33 qualified health center or a community health center, is a site 34 accredited by the centering healthcare institute or is a site 35 -1- LSB 2134YH (3) 90 pf/rh 1/ 3

H.F. 334 engaged in an active implementation contract with the centering 1 healthcare institute, that utilizes the CenteringPregnancy 2 model. 3 b. The provider incorporates the applicable information 4 outlined in any best practices manual for prenatal and 5 postpartum maternal care developed by the department of health 6 and human services into the curriculum for each group prenatal 7 visit. 8 c. The provider ensures that each group prenatal care visit 9 is at least one and one-half hours in duration with a minimum 10 of two women and a maximum of twenty women participating. 11 d. The provider provides that no more than ten group 12 prenatal care visits occur per pregnancy. 13 4. As used in this section, “group prenatal care services” 14 means a series of prenatal care visits provided in a group 15 setting which are based upon the CenteringPregnancy model 16 developed by the centering healthcare institute and which 17 include health assessments, social and clinical support, and 18 educational activities. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill requires the department of health and human 23 services (HHS) to receive federal approval to include group 24 prenatal care based on the CenteringPregnancy model as a 25 covered service under the Medicaid program. Reimbursement 26 is contingent upon the provider of group prenatal care, 27 including but not limited to a federally qualified health 28 center or a community health center, being a site accredited 29 by the centering healthcare institute or a site engaged in an 30 active implementation contract with the centering healthcare 31 institute, that utilizes the CenteringPregnancy model; 32 incorporating the applicable information outlined in any best 33 practices manual for prenatal and postpartum maternal care 34 developed by HHS into the curriculum for each group prenatal 35 -2- LSB 2134YH (3) 90 pf/rh 2/ 3

H.F. 334 visit; ensuring that each group prenatal care visit is at least 1 1.5 hours in duration with a minimum of two women and a maximum 2 of 20 women participating; and providing that no more than 3 10 group prenatal care visits occur per pregnancy. The bill 4 defines “group prenatal care services” as a series of prenatal 5 care visits provided in a group setting which are based 6 upon the CenteringPregnancy model developed by the centering 7 healthcare institute and which include health assessments, 8 social and clinical support, and educational activities. 9 -3- LSB 2134YH (3) 90 pf/rh 3/ 3