New York State Assembly

 
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A02770 Summary:

A02770 Actions:

A02770 Committee Votes:

Committee:HEALTH   Chair:Gottfried      
DATE:07/13/2020AYE/NAY:24/0  Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules        
Gottfried
Aye
Byrne
Aye
Schimminger
Excused
McDonough
Excused
Galef
Aye
Garbarino
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Byrnes
Aye
Cahill
Aye
Ashby
Aye
Paulin
Aye
Miller
Aye
Cymbrowitz
Aye
Salka
Aye
Gunther
Aye
Rosenthal
Aye
Hevesi
Aye
Jaffee
Aye
Steck
Aye
Abinanti
Aye
Braunstein
Aye
Kim
Aye
Solages
Aye
Bichotte
Aye
Barron
Aye
Sayegh
Aye

Committee:RULES   Chair:Heastie      
DATE:07/20/2020AYE/NAY:27/0  Action: Favorable         
Heastie
Excused
Barclay
Aye
Gottfried
Aye
Crouch
Aye
Lentol
Aye
Finch
Excused
Nolan
Aye
Hawley
Aye
Weinstein
Aye
Giglio
Aye
Ortiz
Aye
Malliotakis
Aye
Pretlow
Aye
Blankenbush
Aye
Cook
Aye
Norris
Aye
Glick
Excused
Aubry
Aye
Englebright
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Colton
Aye
Magnarelli
Aye
Perry
Aye
Paulin
Aye
Peoples-Stokes
Aye
Benedetto
Aye
Lavine
Aye
Lupardo
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Thiele
Aye

A02770 Floor Votes:

A02770 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A2770C
 
SPONSOR: Bichotte

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting the Jonah
Bichotte Cowan law relating to pre-term labor care and directing the
commissioner of health to require hospitals to provide pre-term labor
patients with information regarding the potential health effects of
pre-term labor and pre-term delivery on an expectant mother and on her
fetus
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
 
The purpose of this bill is for hospitals and birthing centers to inform
and care for mothers experiencing pre-term labor.
 
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
 
Section 1 names this act the "Jonah Bichotte Cowan Law".
 
Section 2 amends the Public Health Law, by adding the section 2509-b.
The new section enumerates what a general hospital must do when an
expectant mother is undergoing pre-term labor.
 
Section 3 amends the Public Health Law, by adding the section 2803-j.
This section requires the commissioner to prepare and produce informa-
tional materials for distribution by hospitals to expectant mothers who
present herself at the hospital during pregnancy.
 
Section 4 This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such date.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
In October of 2016, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, pregnant at 22
weeks, entered the New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical
Hospital after discovering she was dilating at 3cm. Hunched over the
hospital desk in emotional pain, awaiting to see the Doctor in the exam-
ination room, she was soon to be notified of the worst news an expectant
mother can receive - both she and her unborn baby were in an incredibly
fatal and high risk situation. Knowing the risks associated with Assem-
blymember Bichotte's condition, the Doctors at New York Presbyterian
Columbia University Hospital discharged and forcefully released her
citing "hospital policy". They claimed they could not intervene before
23 weeks and refused her a bed for monitoring at the hospital. She was,
therefore, denied the safe care of medical professionals to herself and
her unborn child. Several days later, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte
was admitted to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and delivered her still-
born son, Jonah Bichotte Cowan.

Pre-term labor, a proxy of pre-term birth, accounts for 17% of all
infant deaths in America and devastates the growth of premature babies,
making them especially vulnerable to the environment.
 
 
One in 10 families across the country and New York State will face the
same unfortunate narrative of a high-risk pregnancy and mistreatment at
the hands of medical professionals. These unethical hospital policies
should be illegal.
 
This bill ensures that, first, mothers are informed that they are going
into early labor and of the associated risks, and secondly:  these
hospitals must care for high-risk pregnancies.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
2019-20: A2770A; referred to health
 
2017-18: A.11206B; amend and recommit to health, print number 11206B
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
 
None
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such date.

A02770 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         2770--C
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 25, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. BICHOTTE, SOLAGES, JEAN-PIERRE, BARRON, WALKER,
          THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- commit-
          tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and  recom-
          mitted  to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in
          accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee -- again reported from said  committee  with  amendments,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting the Jonah
          Bichotte  Cowan  law relating to pre-term labor care and directing the
          commissioner of health to require hospitals to provide pre-term  labor
          patients  with  information  regarding the potential health effects of
          pre-term labor and pre-term delivery on an expectant mother and on her
          fetus
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "Jonah Bichotte Cowan law".
     3    § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new  section  2509-b
     4  to read as follows:
     5    §  2509-b.   Pre-term labor care. 1. When an expectant mother presents
     6  at a general hospital with concerns about being in pre-term  labor,  the
     7  general hospital shall:
     8    (a) determine whether the expectant mother is in pre-term labor;
     9    (b)  upon  making  a  diagnosis of pre-term labor, admit the expectant
    10  mother to the general hospital or treat her in the  emergency  room  for
    11  close observation and continuous monitoring until it is deemed medically
    12  safe  for  discharge  from the general hospital or stabilize and arrange
    13  for an appropriate transfer of such expectant mother to another  general
    14  hospital; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00398-07-0
        A. 2770--C                          2
 
     1    (c)  provide the expectant mother with information concerning pre-term
     2  labor and the potential health effects of pre-term labor  and  premature
     3  birth  delivery  on  the  mother and on her fetus as required by section
     4  twenty-eight hundred three-j of this chapter.
     5    2.  As used in this section, "general hospital" means a general hospi-
     6  tal as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of this chapter.
     7    § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 1-a of section 2803-j  of  the  public  health
     8  law,  subdivision  1  as  amended  by chapter 66 of the laws of 2020 and
     9  subdivision 1-a as added by chapter 56 of the laws of 1996, are  amended
    10  and a new subdivision 1-f is added to read as follows:
    11    1. The commissioner shall require that every hospital and birth center
    12  shall  prepare in printed or photocopied form and distribute at the time
    13  of pre-booking directly to each prospective maternity patient and,  upon
    14  request,  to  the general public an informational leaflet.  Such leaflet
    15  shall also be distributed to any expectant mother who  presents  at  the
    16  hospital during pregnancy. Such leaflet shall be designed by the commis-
    17  sioner  and  shall contain brief definitions of maternity related proce-
    18  dures and practices as specified in subdivision two of this section  and
    19  such other material as deemed appropriate by the commissioner. Hospitals
    20  and  birth  centers  may also elect to distribute additional explanatory
    21  material along with the maternity patients  informational  leaflet.  The
    22  commissioner  shall make the information contained in the leaflet avail-
    23  able on the department's website.
    24    1-a. The informational leaflet shall also include:
    25    (a) an explanation of the special  provisions  relating  to  maternity
    26  care  and  coverage  under  the  insurance law and section [two thousand
    27  eight] twenty-eight hundred  three-n  of  this  [chapter]  article,  and
    28  suggest  that  expectant  parents check their insurance policies for the
    29  details of their maternity coverage; and
    30    (b) a statement that the medical assistance program provides  coverage
    31  for  all  income-eligible  pregnant  women  and children residing in the
    32  state regardless of immigration status.
    33    1-f. The informational leaflet shall also include information relating
    34  to pre-term labor and premature birth,  including  but  not  limited  to
    35  definitions  and information on the risks that pre-term labor and prema-
    36  ture birth pose to the expectant mother and fetus.
    37    § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    38  have become a law.  Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
    39  repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
    40  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
    41  on or before such date.

A02770 LFIN:

 
NO LFIN

A02770 Chamber Video/Transcript: