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A09140 Summary:

BILL NOA09140
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06044
 
SPONSORJackson
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §2509-b, Pub Health L
 
Establishes a fetal infant mortality review board to study fetal infant mortality and morbidity and make recommendations on policies, best practices, and strategies to reduce fetal infant mortality and morbidity.
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A09140 Actions:

BILL NOA09140
 
02/08/2024referred to health
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A09140 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9140
 
SPONSOR: Jackson
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing a fetal infant mortality review board   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to create a statewide fetal infant mortality review board that would investigate fetal, neonatal, and post-neonatal deaths across the state; identify the root causes of these horrific outcomes; and issue recommendations for best practices in avoiding these outcomes.   SUMMARY OF PROVISION Section one of the bill establishes both the review board and its compo- sition. The board would be tasked with assessing the causes of fetal and infant deaths, determining the factors which lead to these deaths, and disseminating strategies for reducing the risk of these deaths. In addi- tion to assessing health-related factors, the board is to consider racial and economic disparities affecting these outcomes. The board would be allowed to review pertinent records - as well as any statements made by relevant individuals on a voluntary basis - provided that such records and statements are redacted prior to being transmitted to the review board. Records, statements, and other information shall be redacted to protect the personal identifying information of the fetus or infant, the parents of the fetus or infant, and the medical profes- sionals involved (including the relevant hospital or facility). All records received and internal documents not meant for public consumption shall not be made open or available to the public. Such information shall not be discoverable or admissible as evidence in any action in any court or before any other tribunal, board, agency, or person. Section two of the bill sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Fetal and infant deaths during the perinatal period have a detrimental impact on the person giving birth, their family, and the community at large. This bill would establish a statewide Fetal Infant Mortality Review Board (FIMR) to identify the root causes of these horrific outcomes and recommend action-oriented solutions. Many states, as well as Washington DC and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, have implemented such boards to help address this urgent issue. These boards interview parents, review pertinent records and reports, and subsequently recommend interventions that can reduce the risk of fetal and infant deaths. A statewide FIMR would bring new insights, helping us lower the fetal and infant mortality rate, especially in communities whose rates far exceed the state average. The infant mortal- ity rate in New York State is relatively low when compared to other states. However, the state's overall success in this area is not shared equally across our communities. Low-income communities and communities of color have infant mortality rates that are two or even three times higher than the statewide average. An in-depth review of individual and aggregate fetal/infant deaths and morbidity cases would shed light on the root causes of poor pregnancy outcomes, and hopefully improve them.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: TBD.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A09140 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9140
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 8, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. JACKSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Health
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  establishing  a
          fetal infant mortality review board
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  2509-b to read as follows:
     3    §  2509-b.  Fetal  infant  mortality  review board. 1. As used in this
     4  section, unless the context requires otherwise:
     5    (a) "Board" means a fetal infant mortality review board established by
     6  this section, referred to in this section as the  "state  board",  or  a
     7  board  operating under this section established by the city of New York,
     8  with or without an agreement with the commissioner, referred to in  this
     9  section as the "city board".
    10    (b)  "Fetal  infant  death"  means  fetal, neonatal, and infant deaths
    11  within one year of birth.
    12    (c) "Severe fetal infant morbidity" or  "morbidity"  means  unexpected
    13  outcomes  of  pregnancy,  labor,  or delivery that result in significant
    14  short- or long-term consequences to a child's health.
    15    (d) "City commissioner" means the commissioner of the  New  York  city
    16  department of health and mental hygiene.
    17    2.  (a) There is hereby established in the department the fetal infant
    18  mortality review board for the purpose of reviewing fetal infant  deaths
    19  and  fetal  infant  morbidity and developing and disseminating findings,
    20  recommendations, and best practices to contribute to the  prevention  of
    21  fetal  infant  mortality and morbidity. The board shall assess the cause
    22  of death, factors leading to death and  preventability  for  each  fetal
    23  infant  death  reviewed  and,  in  the discretion of the board, cases of
    24  severe fetal infant morbidity, and shall develop and disseminate strate-
    25  gies for reducing the risk of  fetal  infant  mortality  and  morbidity,
    26  including  risk  resulting  from racial, economic, or other disparities.
    27  The commissioner may delegate the authority to conduct maternal  mortal-
    28  ity reviews.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10339-01-3

        A. 9140                             2
 
     1    (b)  The commissioner may enter into an agreement with the city of New
     2  York providing:
     3    (i)  that  the  functions  of the state board relating to fetal infant
     4  deaths and severe fetal infant morbidity occurring within  the  city  of
     5  New York shall be conducted by the city board;
     6    (ii)  the  city  board shall provide to the state board the results of
     7  its reviews, relevant information in the possession of the  city  board,
     8  and the recommendations of the city board; and
     9    (iii) the department and the state board shall provide information and
    10  assistance to the city board for the performance of its functions.
    11    (c)  Nothing  in  this section shall prevent the city of New York from
    12  establishing, without an agreement with the commissioner, a board relat-
    13  ing to fetal infant deaths and severe fetal infant  morbidity  occurring
    14  within the city of New York.
    15    3.  (a) The members of the state board shall be comprised of multidis-
    16  ciplinary experts in the field of fetal infant mortality, fetal,  neona-
    17  tal  and  infant health and public health, and shall include health care
    18  professionals or other experts who serve and are representative  of  the
    19  racial,  ethnic,  and  socioeconomic  diversity of the state and, to the
    20  extent possible, the medically underserved areas of the state  or  areas
    21  of  the  state  with disproportionately high occurrences of fetal infant
    22  mortality or morbidity.
    23    (b) The state board shall be composed of at least fifteen members, all
    24  of whom shall be appointed by the commissioner.
    25    (c) The terms of the state board members shall  be  three  years.  The
    26  commissioner  may  choose to reappoint state board members to additional
    27  three-year terms.
    28    (d) A majority of the appointed membership of the state board, but  no
    29  less than three, shall constitute a quorum.
    30    (e)  When  any member of the state board fails to attend three consec-
    31  utive regular meetings, unless good cause is  shown  for  such  absence,
    32  that  membership may be deemed vacant for purposes of the appointment of
    33  a successor.
    34    (f) Meetings of the state board shall be held at least  twice  a  year
    35  but  may be held more frequently as deemed necessary, subject to request
    36  of the department.
    37    (g) Members of the state and city boards shall  be  indemnified  under
    38  section  seventeen  of the public officers law or section fifty-k of the
    39  general municipal law, as the case may be.
    40    (h) Members of the state board shall  not  be  compensated  for  their
    41  participation  on  the  board  but shall receive reimbursement for their
    42  ordinary and necessary expenses of participation.
    43    (i) Membership on a board shall not disqualify any person from holding
    44  any public office or employment.
    45    4. (a) The commissioner may request and  shall  receive  upon  request
    46  from  any  department, division, board, bureau, commission, local health
    47  departments or other agency of the state or political subdivision there-
    48  of or any public authority, such information, including but not  limited
    49  to  death records, medical records, autopsy reports, toxicology reports,
    50  hospital discharge records, birth records and any other information that
    51  will help the department under this section to properly  carry  out  its
    52  functions, powers and duties. The commissioner, or the city commissioner
    53  for  the  fetal infant deaths or fetal infant morbidity occurring within
    54  the vital statistics registration district of the city of New York,  may
    55  request  and  shall  receive upon request from any department, division,
    56  board, commission or other agency under the authority of the city of New

        A. 9140                             3
 
     1  York as well as hospitals established pursuant to  article  twenty-eight
     2  of  this  chapter,  birthing facilities, medical examiners, coroners and
     3  coroner physicians and any other facility providing services  associated
     4  with fetal infant mortality or fetal infant morbidity, such information,
     5  including,  but  not limited to, death records, medical records, autopsy
     6  reports, toxicology reports, hospital discharge records,  birth  records
     7  and  any  other  information  that  will  help the department under this
     8  section to properly carry out its functions, powers and duties.
     9    (b) The commissioner and the city commissioner shall receive  and  may
    10  solicit  voluntary  information,  including  oral or written statements,
    11  relating to any fetal infant death  and  case  of  severe  fetal  infant
    12  morbidity,  from any family member or other interested party relating to
    13  any case that may come before the board. Oral statements received  under
    14  this  paragraph  shall  be  transcribed  or  summarized  in writing. The
    15  commissioner and the city commissioner shall transmit  that  information
    16  to the board considering the case.
    17    (c) Before transmitting any information to the board, the commissioner
    18  or  the city commissioner shall remove all personal identifying informa-
    19  tion of the fetus or infant, parent's of the  fetus  or  infant,  health
    20  care practitioner or practitioners, or anyone else individually named in
    21  such  information,  as well as the hospital or facility that treated the
    22  fetus or infant, and any other information such as  geographic  location
    23  that  may  inadvertently  identify the fetus or infant, practitioner, or
    24  facility.  This paragraph shall not preclude the transmitting of  infor-
    25  mation  to the board that is reasonably necessary to enable the board to
    26  perform an appropriate review under this section.
    27    5. Each board:
    28    (a) shall collect and perform case reviews of fetal and infant deaths;
    29    (b) shall make and report findings and recommendations to the  commis-
    30  sioner,  and  in  the case of the city board to the commissioner and the
    31  city commissioner regarding the  cause  of  death,  factors  leading  to
    32  death, and preventability of each fetal infant death case, and each case
    33  of  severe  fetal  infant  morbidity reviewed by the board, by reviewing
    34  relevant information for each case in the state or the city of New York,
    35  as the case may be, and consulting with experts as  needed  to  evaluate
    36  the information for each death;
    37    (c)  shall develop and deliver to the commissioner, and in the case of
    38  the city board to the commissioner and the city commissioner  for  areas
    39  of focus, recommendations on:
    40    (i) issues of severe fetal infant morbidity;
    41    (ii)  addressing social determinants of fetal infant health, including
    42  racial, economic or other historical and contemporary  injustices  which
    43  lead to disparities in fetal infant outcomes;
    44    (iii)  policies, best practices, and strategies to reduce fetal infant
    45  mortality and morbidity;
    46    (iv) methods of improving services and resources; and
    47    (v) methods of implementing continuous quality  improvement  in  fetal
    48  infant mortality and morbidity;
    49    (d)  shall issue an annual public report on its findings and recommen-
    50  dations and may also issue public reports more frequently;
    51    (e) shall implement needs assessment,  quality  assurance  and  policy
    52  development  at  the  local  level, which are essential to public health
    53  functions;
    54    (f) shall identify and address systemic community conditions  contrib-
    55  uting to fetal infant deaths;

        A. 9140                             4
 
     1    (g) shall implement a surveillance system to monitor incidence, etiol-
     2  ogies, and contributing factors and which can describe effects of health
     3  care system change;
     4    (h)  shall  identify  system wide challenges to improving fetal infant
     5  health care;
     6    (i) shall assess, plan, improve, and monitor the service  systems  and
     7  community  resources  that support and promote the health and well-being
     8  of women, fetuses, infants, and families;
     9    (j) may, in addition to the findings and  recommendations  made  under
    10  this  subdivision,  and  consistent  with all applicable confidentiality
    11  protections, bring any particular matter to the attention of the commis-
    12  sioner or the city commissioner, and in the case of the  city  board  to
    13  the commissioner and the city commissioner; and
    14    (k)  may  request and shall receive the assistance of the commissioner
    15  in the instance of the state board and  the  city  commissioner  in  the
    16  instance of the city board in carrying out its functions.
    17    6.  The  commissioner and the city commissioner and the state and city
    18  boards  shall  each  keep  confidential  any  information  collected  or
    19  received  under this section that includes personal identifying informa-
    20  tion of the fetus or infant, fetus  or  infant's  parents,  health  care
    21  practitioner or practitioners, or anyone else individually named in such
    22  information,  as well as the hospital or facility that treated the fetus
    23  or infant, and any other information such as  geographic  location  that
    24  may  inadvertently  identify  the fetus or infant, the fetus or infant's
    25  parents, practitioner,  or  facility,  and  shall  use  the  information
    26  provided  or  received  under  this  section  solely for the purposes of
    27  improvement of the quality of fetal infant health care  and  to  prevent
    28  fetal  infant  mortality  and  morbidity.  This  subdivision  shall  not
    29  preclude the transmitting of information to the board that is reasonably
    30  necessary to enable the board to perform  an  appropriate  review  under
    31  this  section. All records received, meetings conducted, reports, except
    32  those public reports required to be issued by the board by this section,
    33  and records made and maintained and all books and papers obtained by the
    34  board shall be confidential and shall not be  made  open  or  available,
    35  including  under  article  six  of the public officers law, and shall be
    36  limited to board members as well as those authorized by the commissioner
    37  or city commissioner. Such information  shall  not  be  discoverable  or
    38  admissible  as  evidence  in any action in any court or before any other
    39  tribunal, board, agency or person.
    40    7. The commissioner and the city commissioner, within their respective
    41  legal authority, may use the recommendations and findings of the  boards
    42  to  develop  guidance  and other actions relating to best practices, and
    43  shall disseminate  information  relating  to  that  guidance  and  other
    44  actions to appropriate health care providers.
    45    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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