Press Releases
Bill Increases Access to Regulated and Safe Nutritional Products for Premature Infants
DUARTE, Calif., August 28, 2024 – Prolacta Bioscience®, the world’s leading hospital provider of 100% human milk-based nutritional products for critically ill and premature infants, today praised the Massachusetts State Legislature for passing the Maternal Health Bill (H.R. 4999). The bill provides insurance coverage for the provision of medically necessary pasteurized donor human milk and donor human milk-derived products.
Further, this legislation provides for insurance coverage of any pasteurized donor human milk and donor human milk-derived products, as long as the milk is obtained from a human milk bank that meets quality guidelines established by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a written order for the provision of human breast milk or donor human milk-derived products issued by a licensed medical practitioner and that the infant meets certain conditions.
“Vulnerable infants in the NICU will now have increased access to regulated and safe nutritional products in Massachusetts,” said Melinda Elliott, MD, FAAP, chief medical officer for Prolacta and a practicing neonatologist. “Expanding insurance coverage for donor human milk and human milk-based products will increase access in every Massachusetts ZIP code—improving health outcomes and supporting health equity.”
H.R. 4999, introduced and led by Senator Pat O’Connor and Representative Danielle Gregoire is an important step towards having guidelines issued from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to ensure donor milk-based nutritional products meet rigorous health and safety guidelines for fragile preemies.
“We thank Senator O’Connor and Representative Gregoire for their leadership on this issue and are hopeful Massachusetts will serve as a model for other states to pass similar laws for premature infant nutrition,” stated Dr. Elliott.
About Prolacta Bioscience
Prolacta Bioscience® is a global life sciences company dedicated to Advancing the Science of Human Milk® to improve health outcomes for critically ill and premature infants. More than 100,000 extremely premature infants worldwide1 have benefited from Prolacta’s human milk-based products, which have been evaluated in more than 30 peer-reviewed clinical studies. Operating the world's first pharmaceutical-grade human milk processing facilities, Prolacta maintains the industry's strictest quality and safety standards, with over 20 validated tests for screening and testing human milk. Prolacta's manufacturing process uses vat pasteurization to ensure pathogen inactivation while protecting nutritional composition and bioactivity. Connect with us at X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont
Lkosmont@prolacta.com
310.721.9444
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