Postpartum home visits

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill requires hospitals to provide a postpartum home visit to a person who gives birth and the person’s infant within 14 days of the request if the person requests the postpartum home visit within 14 days from the day that the person gave birth. The postpartum home visit may be provided by a doula who has received training that meets standards established by the Wisconsin Doulas of Color Collective, or any successor organization, a licensed midwife, a licensed nurse-midwife, or any other licensed health care provider who may provide the postpartum home visit consistent with the provider’s scope of practice. The postpartum home visit may be provided directly by the hospital or through referral to or coordination with an authorized external provider.

Under the bill, the postpartum home visit is defined as a home visit to support recovery from childbirth and provide postpartum services, including physical recovery assessment, breastfeeding and infant feeding support, screening for maternal emotional wellness concerns, and connection to appropriate follow-up care when indicated. The bill prohibits hospitals from seeking payment from the person for services provided pursuant to the postpartum home visit. The bill also requires health insurance policies and self-insured governmental health plans that provide maternity coverage to provide coverage, without cost-sharing, for a postpartum home visit for each birth. Health insurance policies are known as disability insurance policies in the bill.

Who's behind it

6 senators are its authors⁠. All 6 are Democrats.

17 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.