HB 894 Summary

• Creates a new "Board of Professional Midwives" consisting of 6 members (5 licensed professional midwives and 1 public member) within the Division of Professional Registration to license and regulate professional midwifery.

• Establishes licensure requirements for professional midwives including current certification by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), basic life support certification, and CPR/neonatal resuscitation training.

• Defines the practice of professional midwifery as explicitly not being the practice of medicine, osteopathy, or nursing, and prohibits midwives from prescribing drugs, performing cesarean sections, using forceps or vacuum delivery, or performing abortions.

• Requires licensed professional midwives to carry malpractice insurance, provide written disclosure statements to clients, and establishes reimbursement at physician rates under MO HealthNet plus an additional home birth fee.

• Removes midwifery regulation from the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts (physicians board) and repeals prior midwife licensing provisions under chapter 334.

• Requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to maintain and publish birth outcome statistics for all Missouri maternity care providers on its website.