1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; requiring the commissioner of 
  1.3             health to study the establishment of a regulatory 
  1.4             system for birth centers.  
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [BIRTH CENTER STUDY.] 
  1.7      The commissioner of health shall make recommendations to 
  1.8   the legislature on the establishment of a regulatory system for 
  1.9   birth centers.  In making these recommendations, the 
  1.10  commissioner shall examine the regulatory systems of birth 
  1.11  centers established in other states and in other countries.  The 
  1.12  commissioner shall also examine, to the extent possible, the 
  1.13  health outcomes of birth centers compared to hospitals in terms 
  1.14  of maternal, fetal, and neonatal health. 
  1.15     The recommendations must include: 
  1.16     (1) whether the establishment of birth centers, both inside 
  1.17  and outside of hospitals, is feasible and desirable in terms of 
  1.18  providing safe and appropriate health care and providing health 
  1.19  care alternatives to childbearing families; 
  1.20     (2) the type of regulatory system needed to ensure the 
  1.21  quality of the health care services provided; and 
  1.22     (3) whether the establishment of birth centers would 
  1.23  negatively impact the availability of licensed health 
  1.24  professionals in hospitals.  
  1.25     The commissioner may convene an advisory group that is 
  2.1   representative of the parties who may be interested in the 
  2.2   establishment of birth centers, including but not limited to, 
  2.3   the Minnesota Nurses Association, the Minnesota Medical 
  2.4   Association, Minnesota Hospital and Healthcare Partnership, 
  2.5   Minnesota Families for Midwifery, Midwifery Now, the Minnesota 
  2.6   chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Minnesota 
  2.7   chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and 
  2.8   Gynecologists, the Minnesota chapter of the American Academy of 
  2.9   Pediatrics, and the National Association of Childbearing Centers.
  2.10     The commissioner shall report these recommendations to the 
  2.11  legislature by January 15, 2002, including draft legislation on 
  2.12  any proposed regulatory process.