(1) A health benefit plan issued or renewed on or after July 15, 1996, that provides maternity coverage shall provide coverage for inpatient care for a mother and her newly-born child for a minimum of forty-eight (48) hours after vaginal delivery and a minimum of ninety-six (96) hours after delivery by Cesarean section.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a health benefit plan if the health benefit plan authorizes an initial postpartum home visit which would include the collection of an adequate sample for the hereditary and metabolic newborn screening and if the attending physician, with the consent of the mother of the newly-born child, authorizes a shorter length of stay than that required of health benefit plans in subsection (1) of this section upon the physician’s determination that the mother and newborn meet the criteria for medical stability in the most current version of “Guidelines for Perinatal Care” prepared by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Effective: April 10, 1998
History: Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 496, sec. 50, effective April 10, 1998. — Created
1996 Ky. Acts ch. 88, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1996.