Hochul Aims for Nation’s First Paid Prenatal Leave Benefit in NY

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) wants to create a “first-in-the-nation” plan to expand paid family leave to include prenatal care, she announced Thursday.

“Make no mistake: we are facing a maternal and infant mortality crisis,” said Hochul at a New York City press conference. “As New York’s first mom governor, this is personal to me. We are committed to tackling this crisis head-on with policies that lift up parents and children throughout the state of New York.”

The proposal is the latest example of New York Democrats aiming to expand the social safety net more widely than progressive states like California, which enacted a law last year to give workers a right to five days of unpaid leave after a pre-term pregnancy loss.

Funding details will come in the draft state budget Hochul will release later this month after delivering her State of the State address on Jan. 9.

New Yorkers could access 40 hours of paid leave to get prenatal care under Hochul’s proposal. New York’s current law limits short-term disability benefits to the four weeks prior to a child’s birth with a seven-day waiting period.

A payroll tax paid by workers funds the New York paid family leave program, while employers share in the costs of the short-term disability program that could also support expanded prenatal care under Hochul’s proposal.

Hochul said Thursday she also wants to ban co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs for pregnancy-related care. That provision would only apply to insurance plans under control of the state. She also wants to eliminate insurance plans’ doctor referral requirements for doula services.

Two prominent Black politicians—City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D) and Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn (D)—shared the stage and highlighted how expanded state support for pregnant women and their babies could reduce mortality rates for infants and minority mothers that are much higher than those experienced by their white counterparts.

“We need urgent action to combat the infant and maternal mortality crisis, and our governor continues to step up to the plate with a six-point plan to make motherhood safer for all,” said Bichotte Hermelyn. “As a survivor of maternal loss, I am committed to working with Gov. Kathy Hochul to combat the shocking spike in infant mortality rates that are rising for the first time in decades.”