Requires DOH to develop shared decision-making tool and establish maternal health care pilot program.

A2084

ASSEMBLY, No. 2084

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Stanley

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires DOH to develop shared decision-making tool
and establish maternal health care pilot program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

establishing a maternal health care pilot
program.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� a.� The Commissioner of
Health shall develop and make available a shared decision-making tool for maternity
care hospitals and birthing centers licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.) providing inpatient maternity services.� Use of the shared
decision-making tool shall be voluntary on the part of maternity care hospitals
and licensed birthing centers. �The purpose of the shared decision-making tool
shall be to:

���� (1)� improve knowledge of the
benefits and risks of, and best practice standards for, the provision of
maternity care;

���� (2) �increase collaboration
between a maternity care patient and the patient�s health care provider to
assist the patient in making informed decisions about the maternity care the
patient receives;

���� (3) improve patient
experiences during, and reduce adverse outcomes related to, or associated with,
pregnancy; and

���� (4) �encourage maternity care
patients to create a birth plan stating the patient�s preferences during the
stages of labor, delivery, and postpartum.

���� b.� The shared decision-making
tool shall consist of patient decision aids including, but not limited to:

���� (1) electronic or printed
standardized patient questionnaires designed by hospitals and birthing centers,
which shall be made available to maternity care patients;

���� (2) �educational fact sheets
containing information about:

���� (a) �choosing a health care
provider, hospital, or birthing center;

���� (b) early labor supportive
care techniques and other non-pharmacologic methods that support the onset of
active labor, reduce stress and anxiety for maternity care patients and their
families, and improve coping and pain management;

���� (c) �potential maternal and
neonatal complications that may be associated with non-medically indicated
pre-term labor inductions;

���� (d) �the benefits of carrying
pregnancies to full-term and the benefits of operative vaginal deliveries to
reduce the risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality; and

���� (e)� the risks associated with
cesarean section procedures; and

���� (3)� brochures and other
multimedia tools that inform and educate maternity care patients about critical
maternal conditions and the available treatment options and interventions for
such events, and the advantages, disadvantages, and risk factors associated
with each available treatment option and intervention.

����� 2.�
a.� The Commissioner of Health shall implement a three-year pilot program under
which a select number of maternity care hospitals and licensed birthing
centers, as determined by the commissioner, may utilize and evaluate the shared
decision-making tool developed pursuant to section 1 of this act.� The
commissioner shall develop a process for maternity care hospitals and licensed
birthing facilities that are interested in participating in the pilot program to
apply or otherwise request to participate.� The commissioner shall determine
the total number of maternity care hospitals and licensed birthing centers to
be included in the pilot program, except that, at a minimum, the commissioner
shall select at least one hospital or birthing facility from each of the
northern, central, and southern regions of the State for inclusion.

����� b.�
The hospitals or birthing centers that are selected by the commissioner to
participate in the pilot program shall use a standardized, comprehensive
evaluation process, to be designed by the commissioner, that assesses the
effectiveness of the shared decision-making tool in improving maternity care
and reducing adverse outcomes related to, or associated with, pregnancy by
collecting and analyzing information, during the pilot program period, about
maternal outcomes, including, but not limited to:

����� (1)
�the number and percentage of maternity care patients who underwent
non-medically indicated labor induction procedures, and the number and
percentage of maternity care patients who underwent medically indicated
induction procedures;

����� (2)
�the number and percentage of maternity care patients who underwent
non-medically indicated cesarean section procedures, and the number and
percentage of maternity care patients who underwent medically indicated
cesarean section procedures;

����� (3)
the number and percentage of maternity care patients who underwent vaginal
deliveries;

����� (4)
�the number and percentage of maternity care patients who delivered at 41 or
more weeks of gestation;

����� (5)
�the number and percentage of maternity care patients who delivered after 34
weeks of gestation, but before 41 or more weeks of gestation;

����� (6)
�the number and percentage of maternity care patients who created a birth plan
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection a. of section 1 of this act; and

����� (7)
�any other information related to a maternity care patient�s prenatal,
postnatal, labor, and delivery care that the commissioner deems necessary.

����� 3.�
a.� Within one year after the expiration of the pilot program established
pursuant to section 2 of this act, each maternity care hospital and licensed
birthing center selected by the Commissioner of Health to participate in the
pilot program shall prepare, and submit to the commissioner, to the Governor,
and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the
Legislature, a report on the effectiveness of the shared-decision making tool
developed pursuant to section 1 of this act.

����� b.�
The reports submitted pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be based
on the information collected as part of the standardized evaluation process
designed by the commissioner pursuant to subsection b. of section 2 of this
act, and shall include recommendations for improvements to the shared
decision-making tool and recommendations regarding Statewide implementation of
the shared decision-making tool.

����� 4.�
This act shall take effect on the 360th day after the date of enactment, and
shall expire upon the final submission of all of the reports that are required
pursuant to subsection a. of section 3 of this act.� The Commissioner of Health
may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance of the effective
date as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Commissioner of Health (commissioner) to develop a voluntary, shared
decision-making tool for use by maternity care hospitals and licensed birthing
centers.�

���� The purpose of the shared
decision-making tool will be to: improve knowledge of the benefits and risks
of, and best practice standards for, the provision of maternity care; increase
collaboration between a maternity care patient and the patient�s health care
provider to assist the patient in making informed decisions about the maternity
care the patient receives; improve patient experiences during, and reduce
adverse outcomes related to, or associated with, pregnancy; and encourage
maternity care patients to create a birth plan stating the patient�s
preferences during the stages of labor, delivery, and postpartum.

���� The shared decision-making
tool will consist of patient decision aids including, but not limited to:
electronic or printed standardized patient questionnaires designed by hospitals
and birthing centers, which will be made available to maternity care patients;
educational fact sheets providing information on a broad range of maternity
care issues, including choosing a caregiver and hospital or birthing center,
early labor support techniques, potential maternal and neonatal complications
relating to pre-term labor induction, the benefits of carrying pregnancies full
term, the benefits of operative vaginal deliveries, and the risks associated
with cesarean section procedures; and brochures and other multimedia tools that
inform and educate maternity care patients about critical maternal conditions
and the available treatment options and interventions for such events, along
with the advantages, disadvantages, and risks associated with each treatment
option and intervention.

���� The bill directs the
commissioner to implement a three-year pilot program, under which a select
number of maternity care hospitals and birthing centers may utilize and
evaluate the shared decision-making tool developed pursuant to the bill.� The
commissioner will develop a process for hospitals and birthing centers that are
interested in participating in the pilot program to request to participate.�
The commissioner will determine the total number of participating hospitals and
birthing centers, except that, at a minimum, the commissioner will be required
to select at least one hospital or birthing facility from each of the northern,
central, and southern regions of the State.

���� The hospitals and birthing
centers selected by the commissioner to participate in the pilot program will
use a standardized, comprehensive evaluation process, to be designed by the
commissioner, that will assess the effectiveness of the shared decision-making
tool in improving maternal care and reducing adverse outcomes related to, or
associated with, pregnancy by collecting and analyzing information, during the
pilot program period, about maternal outcomes.� The data to be collected using
the evaluation process will include, but will not be limited to, the number and
percentage of maternity care patients who: underwent non-medically indicated
and medically-indicated labor induction procedures; underwent non-medically
indicated and medically-indicated cesarean section procedures; underwent
vaginal delivery; delivered at 41 or more weeks of gestation and delivered
between 34 and 41 or more weeks of gestation; and created a birth plan.� The
evaluation process data will additionally include any other information related
to a maternity care patient�s prenatal, postnatal, labor, and delivery care
that the commissioner deems necessary.

���� The bill requires the
hospitals and birthing centers participating in the pilot program to prepare
and submit a report to the commissioner, to the Governor, and to the
Legislature, within one year after the pilot program established pursuant to
the bill expires, on the effectiveness of the shared decision-making tool
developed pursuant to the bill.� The report would be based on the information
collected as part of the evaluation process designed as part of the pilot
program, and would make recommendations on improvements to the shared
decision-making tool and recommendations regarding Statewide implementation of
the shared decision-making tool.

���� The bill provides that it will
expire upon the submission of all of the reports required from participant
hospitals and birthing centers.