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Legislative Issues
Thank you for joining us on February 3rd. We had a great turnout for Lobby Day 2012!
The work we do is capturing the attention of legislators and policy makers at both the state and the national level because midwifery care, home birth and birth center birth are SAFE and COST-EFFECTIVE options for childbearing families. We have an important role to play in transforming maternity care in this country!
This year, in addition to running a bill that will remove one of the barriers to licensed midwives obtaining hospital privileges, we are sharing with WA State lawmakers the compelling case for increased access to our services amongst low-risk women on Medicaid and explaining to them the importance of keeping our licensing fee reasonable so we can continue to grow our profession. Last year, our efforts resulted in licensed midwives gaining access to HEAL-WA, the UW Health Sciences electronic library, as well as a budget proviso that reduced our current licensing fees.
Watch here for updates as this year's legislative session unfolds!
2011 Legislative Session
Final Report
From the 2011 MAWS Legislative Agenda, our goals were:
Control exorbitant midwifery licensing fees
Result: The licensing fee cap will continue for the 2011-2013 biennium. We secured a $115,000 budget proviso to hold fees to a total of $525 per year ($500 for licensing, plus $25 for HEAL-WA access.) This was less than the $160,000 that we were seeking, which means the licensed midwife regulatory account at the Department of Health could be in the red next year. We will revisit this issue during the 2012 session.
Give midwives access to HEAL-WA: Support HB 1176/SB 5071
Result: Through the success of SB 5071, sponsored by Sen. Ed Murray, licensed midwives were granted access to HEAL-WA, the UW research resource for health care providers. LMs will have an additional $25 annual fee at licensing or renewal, and should be able to start accessing the service by fall, probably in September. The Department of Health will do rule-making and hold a hearing (because of the fee) during August. HEAL-WA is planning to drop a post card to midwives in October to let them know about their eligibility.
Preserve the Midwifery Advisory Committee: remove from HB 1371/SB 5469
Result: We succeeded in removing The Midwifery Advisory Committee (MAC) at the Department of Health (DOH) from the cut list in the Governor-request bills, HB 1371 and SB 5469. The MAC will continue to meet.
Promote evidence-based maternal & child health: support HB 1311 and HB 1562
Result: The collaborative formed by HB 1311 will research and recommend evidence-based care guidelines, but as signed into law, can choose any topic for review. They are no longer required to first focus on cesarean section rates and early inductions. HB 1562 did not move forward this session, but both House and Senate health care committees plan to discuss current maternity & child health care in our state and develop strategies to reduce preterm births.
CONTACT:
Audrey Levine, MAWS President, (360) 709-0888
Amber Ulvenes, MAWS Lobbyist, at (360) 280-0384
