Prolacta Bioscience Applauds Passage of New York Legislation Expanding Insurance Coverage for Human Milk-Based Nutritional Products

Bill Also Expands Commercial Coverage for Outpatient Use of Donor Human Milk

DUARTE, Calif., Oct. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prolacta Bioscience^®, the world's leading hospital provider of 100% human milk-based nutritional products for critically ill and premature infants, today praised the Hochul Administration and New York State Legislature for signing legislation that will address the nutritional needs of premature and vulnerable infants.

NY Bill A7790A, An Act to Amend the Insurance Law, in Relation to Expanding Coverage Requirements for Human Donor Milk, will provide commercial health insurance coverage for pasteurized donor human milk and donor human milk-derived products in outpatient settings.

"With Governor Hochul's signature, New York State has delivered a tremendous benefit to vulnerable infants and families and underscores the importance of health equity by making these products more broadly available," said Scott Elster, CEO of Prolacta Bioscience. "Expanding outpatient coverage for donor human milk ensures critical access to nutrition for our most fragile population once they leave the hospital. We thank Representative Michaelle Solages for her leadership on this bill and are pleased that New York will provide insurance coverage for human milk-based nutritional products." 

This legislation updates New York's insurance law and expands commercial health insurance coverage requirements for donor human milk and human milk-based products. Mother's own milk (MOM) is always the best option; however, donor human milk is often used in hospitals to support newborns and preterm infants when MOM is unavailable. The use of donor human milk is often expanded beyond inpatient use when MOM is unavailable but was not covered by insurers until now.

"Donor human milk and human milk-derived fortifier are essential in providing care to fragile and critically ill preterm infants," said Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Valley Stream), a sponsor of the legislation. "Parents who need to provide donor milk products for their children should not have to worry about insurance coverage ending once they leave the hospital. I applaud Governor Hochul for signing this crucial legislation into law, providing much-needed security to families across our state. I also thank the many advocates who brought this issue to light and pushed for action in Albany."

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 infants¹ worldwide 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. Learn more at www.prolacta.com, on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont
[email protected]
310-721-9444

References

1. Data on file; estimated number of infants fed Prolacta's products from January 2007 to August 2023.

SOURCE Prolacta Bioscience