HB24-1262 Summary

• Integrates direct-entry midwives into Colorado's reproductive health-care infrastructure and supports community birth options, particularly for underserved Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, rural, refugee, and immigrant communities.

• Requires hospitals and birth centers to provide at least 90 days' notice before discontinuing maternal health-care services, with emergency exceptions requiring notice within 7 days or when alternative care is arranged.

• Establishes a reporting system for maternity care mistreatment allegations categorized by type (physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, stigma, discrimination, professional standards failures, and obstetric racism), with de-identified data shared to the maternal mortality review committee and legislative committees by July 1, 2025, then every three years.

• Adds midwife representation to multiple state boards and committees including the environmental justice advisory board, health equity commission, maternal mortality review committee, and governor's emergency epidemic response committee.

• Appropriates $440,018 total for fiscal year 2024-25 to the Department of Public Health and Environment, Department of Regulatory Agencies, Department of Law, and Governor's Office for implementation ($328,946 for prevention services; $111,072 for regulatory agencies).