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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	February 4, 2022 01:09 PM
From:	Senator Michele Brooks
To:	All Senate members
Subject:	Coverage for Pasteurized Donor Human Milk

In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation previously sponsored by Senator Lisa Baker, requiring health insurers to cover the use of medically prescribed pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) in inpatient and outpatient settings for children under the age of 12 months. To qualify for coverage, the child's mother must be medically or physically unable to produce maternal breast milk in an amount needed to meet the child's needs. The donor milk must also be obtained from a milk bank licensed in Pennsylvania pursuant to the Keystone Mother's Milk Bank Act (Act 7) of 2020. An all-human milk diet provides powerful, unparalleled protection against serious health complications that can lead to longer hospital stays, multiple medical and surgical procedures, readmissions, life-long disability, or even death, while also increasing rates of exclusive maternal breastfeeding. Donor milk is also medically prescribed for children with heart problems and other health care issues, including neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which occurs when infants are exposed to opioids or other substances of abuse in utero. In addition, when a mother's own milk is unavailable, the use of PDHM for necessary supplementation is a proven, cost-effective way to improve health outcomes and lower health care costs. My legislation will ensure that evidence-based insurance coverage is provided to mothers and their infants for PDHM and will help to improve both the short-term and long-term outcomes for the small subset of infants who are unable to thrive on commercially available specialty formulas or who have medical conditions that require human milk. Finally, this insurance coverage will address equity issues associated with disparities in access to donor milk, thereby yielding significant health benefits for our most medically fragile and vulnerable infants in Pennsylvania. Please join me in co-sponsoring this life-saving legislation.

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