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Jun 188 min read

Colorado Affiliate Meeting Minutes: June 2024

Colorado Affiliate Meeting Minutes: June 2024

June 2024 Affiliate Meeting

Location: Zoom

Date: 6/11/24


Board Members Present: Jeanne Bair (President), _Merrilynn Artman (VP), Diane Utz (Treasurer),Carolyn  Bottone-Poste (member-at-large), Adrian Medina (member-at-large) 

Affiliate Members Present:  Bonita Shviraga, Rebecca Huner (CU student), Ashley Vendal (CU student), Kala Kluender, Jane 

Avery,  Lorell Erwin

 

Guests: Lisa Ward, Frontline Public Affairs



Announcements: 


  • ACNM Midwives-PAC - plans for another virtual PAC Rally are in the works

The Midwives-PAC is a political action committee that solicits voluntary contributions from ACNMmembers that can be distributed strategically as campaign contributions to federal legislators, or candidates who have demonstrated an understanding, interest, and commitment to increasing access to midwives and evidence-based midwifery-led care and improving the culture of maternal health through federal policy.PAC contributions create a relationship between legislators and midwives, so that they see us as a resource when issues of women's health come up before the Congress.  

They also allow us to support legislators who have supported issue for ACNM.


We have usually donated $1000. There was no objection to donating again this year. 

 Boulder Birth Center is filing for non-profit status and are asking for donations. https://boulderbirthandhealth.com/about/non-profit 

After a decade of serving our community under a variety of ownership models, we are thrilled to announce our plans to establish as a 501(c)(3) organization in order to increase long-term community impact, engagement, and sustainability. We are proud to be fiscally sponsored by the American Association of Birth Centers Foundation (AABCF) while we lay the foundation to obtain our own non-profit status.


There is a fund-raising luncheon on June 15th from 11-1 1401 Pearl Street in Boulder, please RSVP

Legislative Update:

Report from Frontline Public Affairs by Lisa Ward:

ACNM Budget Items

  • Additional Medicaid targeted rate increases for maternity care to 100% of benchmark

  • Increase in Medicaid abortion service provider reimbursement for cases of rape or incest which is covered by Medicaid in CO to 100% of benchmark

  • $1.9M and 3.8 FTE to address increased incidence of syphilis across the state and fund programs to increase access to testing and treatment. HB24-1456 also passed requiring CDPHE to adopt rules regarding syphilis testing by January 1, 2025, and to update these rules every three years. Current law requires health care providers to test pregnant patients for syphilis at the first prenatal care visit, unless the patient refuses.

  • A net-zero technical change to combine all the Family Planning Program line items into one line called “Reproductive Health Programs” providing CDPHE flexibility in the use of the funds for services and ensuring it can fully expend the allocations.

  • $229,335 for the gamete bank and fertility clinic program. See SB24-223 summary below on related licensing requirements

  • $500,000 transfer from the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund in HCPF to the Breast Cancer Screening Fund in CDPHE annually from FY24-25 through FY26-27 (SB24-086). This bill also removes a requirement that interest and income earned on money in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund be transferred to the Disability Support Fund.

  • $18.6M for the 2% community provider rate increase 




ACNM Monitor Position:

HB24-1005:  Health Insurers Contract with Qualified Providers

Originally proposed to require state-regulated health insurance plans to include primary care providers as in-network providers if they were credentialed Medicaid providers and met additional criteria. The original proposal was removed and replaced with language to clarify what cannot be awarded as damages due to a breach of a physician employment agreement. Neither version passed. 

Action: FAILED

HB24-1472:  Medical Malpractice

Civil actions filed on/after Jan 1 2025 increases Cap on damages for noneconomic loss or injury from $250,000 to $1.5M. The bill imposes a wrongful death damages cap of $2.125 million and incrementally increases the medical malpractice wrongful death damages limitation to $1.575 million adjusting both caps for inflation. The bill also incrementally increases the noneconomic damages limitation to $875,000 while also adjusting the cap for inflation.

Action:  PASSED

SB 24-223:  Licensing For Clinics That Provide Fertility Services

Makes changes to the licensing requirements for gamete agencies, gamete banks, and fertility clinics including extending the deadline to become licensed from January 1, 2025 to July 1, 2025. It also requires licensees to submit documentation that shows compliance with licensing requirements initially and upon license renewal and authorizes CDPHE to perform on-site inspections or investigations of complaints of clinics located outside of Colorado, subject to available funding.Action:  PASSED


ACNM Support Position:

SB24-175:  Improving Perinatal Health Outcomes

  • Large and small employee health benefits to cover doula services

  • Medicaid to cover OTC Choline Supplements

  • CDPHE to create the Perinatal Health Quality Improvement Engagement Program to address disparate care and outcomes among BIPOC, Medicaid, rural and frontier communities

Action:  PASSED

HB24-1456:  Increase Syphilis Testing During Pregnancy

  • Blood test at first visit for syphilis and HIV and send to state lab

  • Patient can decline but must be documented

  • Testing throughout prenatal period, 3rd trimester and delivery

Action:  PASSED

HB24-1459:  Birth Equity

Requires the staff of a jail, the department of corrections, or a private contract prison to comply with current law regarding the use of restraints on individuals who are in custody and experiencing labor, delivery, or postpartum recovery. Additionally, a correctional facility, government entity, or private contract prison incarcerating a person who is capable of pregnancy must adopt administrative policies for human milk storage. The bill also establishes a process to transfer and receive pregnant persons across levels of care of licensed facilities.

Action:  PASSED

HB24-1055:  Modifies Child Restraint System Laws to Increase Child Passenger Safety

  • Increases age of child from under 8 years to under 9 years

  • Changes to rear-facing seat requirements

Action:  PASSED

ACNM Amend Position:

HB24-1262:  Maternal Health Midwives

Amends language regarding the powers and duties of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to include mistreatment in maternity care, ensures reports collected that contain confidential information can be de-identified and requires the Commission to share the generated information with the Colorado Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the House and Senate Health and Human Services Committees and the Maternity Advisory Committee. The bill adds a midwife to the several boards and commissions. It also requires hospitals providing maternal healthcare services or a birth center to provide ninety days’ notice to patients and government entities before discontinuing services. Finally, the bill directs CDPHE to study closures, consolidations, and acquisitions related to perinatal healthcare practices and perinatal state designated health professional shortage areas as well as to create a health professional shortage area and perinatal health services assets and deficits asset map. 

Action: PASSED

Additional Bills of Interest to ACNM

HB24-1164:  Free Menstrual Products to Students (Passed)

HB24-1106:  Require Information About Abortion Pill Reversal (Failed)

HB24-1025:  Implement Fertility Coverage for Health Plans (Failed)

HB24-1075:  Analysis of Universal Healthcare System (Failed)

HB24-1224:  Personhood of Living Unborn Human Child (Failed)

SB24-083:  Relinquishment of Child in Newborn Safety Device (Failed)


2024 Ballot Initiative #89:  Constitutional right to Abortion in Colorado

2024 Interim and 2025 Legislative Session 

The 2024 interim will include two new interim committee topics of American Indian Affairs and another specific to Cell Phone Connectivity. In addition to these, several previously approved interim committees and task forces including those on Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems, Jail Standards, Youth Advisory Council, Tax Policy, Health Care, Transportation, Wildfire Matters, and Artificial Intelligence (renamed from Facial Recognition Services) remain active. Information can be found here under Interim Committees.

Treasury report: Diane Utz

ACNM has now remitted all our past dues and should be posting our dues every month going forward.   Our only expense this month was paying our lobbyists.  The symposium earned $21,217. Our current checking balance is $30,199 and our CD is worth $10,127.


JEDI Committee (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion):  Jane Avery 

Fund raisers for BIPOC scholarship:

The JEDI committee earned more at their table this year at the symposium!  


There are plans for 2 fund-raisers this fall

  • Golf Tournament on September 13th at Coal Creek Golf Course 585 W Dillon Rd, Louisville, CO 80027

  • The annual 5K run will be held in Lakewood on October 6 @ 11am


Region VI update: Jessica Ellis Jessica just attended the Board meeting in DC this weekend.  Jeanne Bair attended the portion that was open to all members via Zoom on Sunday from 11a-3:30p.

There were several motions voted on at the ACNM business meeting on May 22. As you may know those motions approved by a vote of the membership at the Business Meeting go forward to the ACNM Board as recommendations.  The Board then discusses them and votes on them. There was some discussion at the Sunday meeting about these motions, but decisions will be made at a later date. Below are the motions as outlined in the Weekly


Update by CEO Michelle Munroe.

Motion 1

I move to recommend to the ACNM Board that the Position Statement “Legislation and Regulation that Affect Midwifery Professionals not Certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board” be updated to include language that limits ACNM’s ability to interfere with or prohibit other midwifery organizations’ efforts to advance legislation that impacts the scope of practice, education, and regulation of other types of midwives.

Motion passed with 88 votes out of 120 with 32 voting against.

 Motion 2 – not addressed 

I move to recommend to the ACNM Board that they address, prioritize, and resolve incoming communication issues at the national office. 

The motion maker or the person who seconded the motion were not available to speak to the motion. It was not addressed during the meeting.

Motion 3 –  This motion was determined to need bylaws change and therefore no vote was taken.

I recommend to the ACNM Board that the Indigenous Peoples Affiliate be approved to replace the Indian Health Service Affiliate

 Motion 4

I move that the ACNM Board establish a task force charged with meeting with ACNM Board members, ACNM staff, and state affiliate leaders to determine appropriate processes for the organization's financial transparency.

Motion passed with 109 votes out of 116, 7 voted against.


This was the second year that a form of this motion was submitted. The Treasurer has implemented an opportunity for members to participate in the Finance and Audit Subcommittee of the board. This is a financial advisory committee. This opportunity has been advertised in my newsletter. This is the opportunity that was created from last year’s request. If you are interested in participating in this subcommittee, please email executiveoffice@acnm.org. 

Motion 5 

I move to recommend to the ACNM board to take active measures in addressing the significant concern of black maternal mortality and morbidity rates.

Motion passed with 97 votes out of 100 with 3 voting against.

Motion 6 As stated in this motion, it requires a change in the ACNM bylaws and therefore was not voted on at this meeting.

I move that the ACNM bylaws be updated to signify that member motions, which are voted in by a majority of members at the annual meeting, be binding. They also should be taken up for discussion at the next board meeting within 60 days.


At the business meeting there was also a motion made to give students a vote. This vote at the meeting was 2-3 votes short of passing and Michelle Munroe said would be verifying the tally afte the meeting to see if it had passed. I think that I saw subsequently that it had passed but this motion was not included in the summary above from the Weekly Update from CEO Michelle Munroe. So the status is of this particular motion is unclear.


Project Cure: Leah Rashidyan/Jennifer Fields

Assembly time is 1-3pm on Sundays.

  • July:  Beginnings Birth Center- Colorado Springs - July 14

  • July- Contact: Lauren Silk laurens@beginningsbc.com    719-367-9405 ext 7 303-396-4080

  • September:  OPEN

  • December:  No Assembly

Jennifer and Leah would welcome another assembly coordinator who could work as a lead on assembly days.  It is about a 4 hour/month commitment.  It’s rewarding to know that you are helping midwives around the world and it’s fun to work with colleagues from other practices.  Any interested individuals please contact Leah (626-240-9467) or Jennifer (720-334-1607).  


Midwife of the week: If interested in nominating someone, write up a short bio and send with a photo to executiveoffice@acnm.org

Next Affiliate meetings (Zoom at 6:30pm MST): 


August 13

October 8

December 10

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