Bill > SF129

This bill requires licensed hospitals in Iowa to submit and publicly post specific policies related to nondiscrimination and reproductive health care by September 1, 2025. The bill defines "reproductive health care" comprehensively, including neonatal care, family planning, contraception, abortion, miscarriage care, maternal hemorrhage care, and vaginal delivery after cesarean birth. Hospitals providing labor and delivery services must also submit policies on best practices recommended by professional medical organizations, such as managing obstetrical hemorrhage, addressing severe hypertension, preventing blood clots, reducing unnecessary cesarean births, reducing racial disparities in maternal care, and ensuring postpartum care standards. The Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) must post these policies on its website and create an interactive online tool allowing public comparison of hospital policies. Hospitals must update the department within 30 days of any policy changes and must also post these policies on their own websites in a manner easily accessible to the public without requiring login credentials. The bill will be designated under a new subchapter called the "patient's right to know Act" in the Iowa Code.