Our bill, SB 175 which we have been working on for a year and a half, now finally passed out of the House Commerce Committee earlier in December 2005 with a unanimous vote from the committee members.  We had to let go of the home birth part of it this time around, but the law in essence mandates all insurance carriers to pay for an out of hospital birth as long as it is in a licensed health care facility- a birth center in essence.  Some areas of the law are totally in our favor, which was the compromise.  We will be able to be network providers, a HUGE victory for midwives everywhere!  And they must reimburse us fairly, as in the same as other practitioners providing the same or similar services.

Because of the unanimous vote from the committee members, it did not go in front of the House of Representatives like it did last term.  Instead, it was on the Consent calendar, which means it crosses over to the Senate without a vote from the House at all.  Another victory.  Once in the Senate, the head of the original committee can either concur with the House recommendations, put it back for further study in the Senate, or can it all together.  Since this person who was in charge was one of only two in the Senate out of 24 who said " No" originally, we were sitting on pins and needles last week...

But he concurred last Wednesday, January 18, 2006, and it is DONE!  Celebration time!!!  We are through, it is being signed into law by the Governor as we speak.  In the fall of 2006, we will introduce the piece that will expand place of service to include home births, but at this point the expansion of providers being mandated by law is an incredible victory for women, babies, and midwives everywhere.  This law guarantees all women in New Hampshire the right to birth outside of the hospital and that their health insurance providers will pay for it.

I hope that everyone who has watched the progress of this bill, helped in any number of ways, or participated in the effort understands that it was all of US who made this happen- there wasn't a fancy lawyer hired to argue our case.  There wasn't an expensive lobbyist to talk to the legislators and lobbyists on the other side.  We did this, without a lot of money, without professional help, and with the sheer determination, will, and hard work that can only come from committed women and their families.  I am so proud of all of us- we took on the wealthiest industry in the nation, by ourselves, and WE WON!!!