The new year is officially underway, and a series of new laws are now in effect across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Here are some of the laws impacting each state, from increases in the minimum wage to expanded access to abortion.
Pennsylvania
Health insurance plans in Pennsylvania, including Medicaid, will now have to cover biomarker testing for cancer.
- Legislation passed in 2024 will expand patient access to personalized cancer treatments and require insurers to include biomarker testing as a covered benefit.
New Medicaid coverage allows for doulas to be reimbursed.
- Under the law , certified doulas can be reimbursed for providing childbirth education services, support services, physical and emotional support during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and up to one year after a parent gives birth.
Safe haven laws have been expanded, and urgent care centers can now accept newborn surrenders.
- Urgent care centers in Pennsylvania have been added to the list of “safe havens” in the state, where parents can surrender newborn babies without penalty. Under Pennsylvania’s Safe Haven Law, people can also surrender newborns up to 28 days old to any hospital, police station or EMS station.