BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 502
Author: Pavley (D) and De León (D), et al.
Amended: 8/15/11
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 5-1, 4/13/11
AYES: Hernandez, Alquist, De León, DeSaulnier, Rubio
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland, Blakeslee, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 30-6, 5/16/11
AYES: Alquist, Blakeslee, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De
León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Gaines, Hancock,
Harman, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner,
Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Dutton, Fuller, Huff, La Malfa
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, Strickland, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-23, 8/29/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Hospital Infant Feeding Act
SOURCE : California WIC Association
DIGEST : This bill, effective January 1, 2014,
establishes the Hospital Infant Feeding Act which will
require all general acute care and special hospitals that
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have a perinatal unit to have an infant-feeding policy, as
specified, to clearly post the policy and routinely
communicate the policy to perinatal unit staff.
Assembly Amendments redefine "Baby-Friendly Hospital
Initiative," and make technical and clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes the Maternal Child and Adolescent Health
(MCAH) program, administered by the Department of Public
Health (DPH), which monitors and reports infant feeding
data.
2. Requires DPH to recommend training for general acute
care hospitals and special hospitals that is intended to
improve breast-feeding rates among mothers and infants.
3. Establishes, under MCAH, the program "Birth and Beyond
California" which utilizes quality improvement methods
and training to implement evidence-based policies and
practices that support breastfeeding within the
maternity care setting.
4. Establishes the Women, Infants and Children program
(WIC), administered by the DPH to provide nutritional
food supplements to low-income pregnant women,
low-income postpartum and lactating women, and
low-income infants and children under five years of age,
who have been determined to be at nutritional risk.
5. Establishes the "Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program"
at local agency WIC sites to increase the rate of
breastfeeding for WIC participants.
6. Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the
Department of Health Care Services, which provides
comprehensive health benefits to low-income children,
their parents or caretaker relatives, pregnant women,
elderly, blind or disabled persons, and nursing home
residents who meet specified eligibility criteria.
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7. Covers, as part of the Medi-Cal durable medical
equipment benefit, the rental or purchase of breast
pumps for pregnant and postpartum women, subject to
medical necessity.
8. Defines a general acute care hospital as a health
facility having a duly constituted governing body with
overall administrative and professional responsibility
and an organized medical staff that provides 24-hour
inpatient care, including the following basic services:
medical, nursing, surgical, anesthesia, laboratory,
radiology, pharmacy, and dietary services.
9. Defines special hospitals as a health facility having a
duly constituted governing body with overall
administrative and professional responsibility and an
organized medical or dental staff that provides
inpatient or outpatient care in dentistry or maternity.
This bill:
1. Defines "perinatal unit" as a maternity and newborn
service of the hospital for the provision of care during
pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum and neonatal
periods with appropriate staff, space, equipment, and
supplies.
2. Requires the infant-feeding policy to promote
breastfeeding using guidance provided by the
Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) or the DPH
Model Hospital Policy Recommendations.
3. Permits the infant-feeding policy to include guidance on
formula supplementation or bottle-feeding if preferred
by the mother or when exclusive breastfeeding is
contraindicated.
4. Requires the infant-feeding policy to be applicable to
all infants in a perinatal unit, to be routinely
communicated to perinatal unit staff, beginning with
hospital orientation and to be clearly posted on the
hospital or health system Web site.
5. Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding
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recommendations for breastfeeding by the United States
Surgeon General and other major health organizations,
such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and specifies
that the BFHI is a global program sponsored by the World
Health Organization and UNICEF (United Nations
Children's Fund) to encourage and recognize hospitals
that offer an optimal level of care for infant-feeding
and that 34 hospitals in California have received Baby
Friendly USA accreditation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, any
costs associated with this bill would be minor and
absorbable within existing resources.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/11)
California WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Association
(source)
Alameda County Medical Center's Maternal Child Health
Department
American Cancer Society
American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists,
District IX (California)
American Red Cross WIC Program
Antelope Valley Hospital WIC Program
Babies First Breastfeeding Task Force Fresno County
Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles
Butte County WIC
California Breastfeeding Coalition
California Center for Rural Policy
California Food Policy Advocates
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula
Community Medical Centers, Inc.
County of Napa WIC Program
E Center WIC
First 5 Fresno County
First 5 LA
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Kern County Breastfeeding Coalition
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Action Directors
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Mono County WIC
Monterey County Coalition Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies
Mothers' Milk Bank of San Jose
Native American Heath Center WIC Program
Northeast Valley Health Corporation
Orange County Breastfeeding Coalition
Planned Parenthood WIC
Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. WIC Program
Sacred Birth Services
San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition
San Diego State University Research Foundation (WIC)
Program
Solano County Health and Social Services WIC Program
South LA Health Projects
Tulare County Breastfeeding Coalition
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters contend that many
mothers have every intention of providing their baby the
best by having the desire to breastfeed. However, many
hospitals unfortunately do not provide sufficient training
to their staff nor have in place policies that support
their patients' desire to breastfeed successfully.
The California WIC Association, the bill's sponsor, writes
that this is a modest approach to help increase the
exclusive breastfeeding rates in California hospitals while
giving the maternity hospitals a reasonable amount of time
to develop their infant feeding policies and educate their
perinatal unit staff.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-23, 8/29/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon,
Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jones, Knight,
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Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Silva, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell
CTW:mw 8/30/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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