(1) Any group, blanket, or franchise policy of health insurance which provides coverage for maternity care must also cover the services of certified nurse-midwives and midwives licensed pursuant to chapter 467, and the services of birth centers licensed under ss. 383.30-383.332.

(2) Any group, blanket, or franchise policy of health insurance that provides maternity and newborn coverage may not limit coverage for the length of a maternity and newborn stay in a hospital or for followup care outside of a hospital to any time period that is less than that determined to be medically necessary, in accordance with prevailing medical standards and consistent with guidelines for perinatal care of the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, by the treating obstetrical care provider or the pediatric care provider.

(3) This section does not affect any agreement between an insurer and a hospital or other health care provider with respect to reimbursement for health care services provided, rate negotiations with providers, or capitation of providers, and this section does not prohibit appropriate utilization review or case management by an insurer.

(4) Any group, blanket, or franchise policy of health insurance that provides coverage, benefits, or services for maternity or newborn care must provide coverage for postdelivery care for a mother and her newborn infant. The postdelivery care must include a postpartum assessment and newborn assessment and may be provided at the hospital, at the attending physician’s office, at an outpatient maternity center, or in the home by a qualified licensed health care professional trained in mother and baby care. The services must include physical assessment of the newborn and mother, and the performance of any medically necessary clinical tests and immunizations in keeping with prevailing medical standards.

(5) An insurer subject to subsection (1) shall communicate active case questions and concerns regarding postdelivery care directly to the treating physician or hospital in written form, in addition to other forms of communication. Such insurers shall also use a process that includes a written protocol for utilization review and quality assurance.

(6) An insurer subject to subsection (1) may not:

(a) Deny to a mother or her newborn infant eligibility, or continued eligibility, to enroll or to renew coverage under the terms of the policy for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of this section.

(b) Provide monetary payments or rebates to a mother to encourage the mother to accept less than the minimum protections available under this section.

(c) Penalize or otherwise reduce or limit the reimbursement of an attending provider solely because the attending provider provided care to an individual participant or beneficiary in accordance with this section.

(d) Provide incentives, monetary or otherwise, to an attending provider solely to induce the provider to provide care to an individual participant or beneficiary in a manner inconsistent with this section.

(e) Subject to paragraph (7)(c), restrict benefits for any portion of a period within a hospital length of stay required under subsection (2) in a manner that is less favorable than the benefits provided for any preceding portion of such stay.

(7)(a) This section does not require a mother who is a participant or beneficiary to:

1. Give birth in a hospital.

2. Stay in the hospital for a fixed period of time following the birth of her infant.

(b) This section does not apply with respect to any health insurance coverage that does not provide benefits for hospital lengths of stay in connection with childbirth for a mother or her newborn infant.

(c) This section does not prevent a policy from imposing deductibles, coinsurance, or other cost sharing in relation to benefits for hospital lengths of stay in connection with childbirth for a mother or her newborn infant, except that such coinsurance or other cost sharing for any portion of a period within a hospital length of stay required under subsection (2) may not be greater than such coinsurance or cost sharing for any preceding portion of such stay.

History.—s. 21, ch. 83-288; s. 3, ch. 84-94; s. 3, ch. 89-190; s. 114, ch. 92-318; s. 2, ch. 96-195; s. 12, ch. 97-179; s. 109, ch. 2018-24.