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A10344 Summary:

BILL NOA10344
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORGottfried
 
COSPNSRWright, D'Urso, Jaffee, Cook, Paulin, De La Rosa, Rivera, Sepulveda, Solages, Englebright, Simon, Errigo, Lentol, Jenne, Dickens, Arroyo, Weprin, Titus, Niou, Blake, Galef, Wallace, Thiele, Bichotte
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §2509, Pub Health L
 
Establishes a maternal mortality review board for the purpose of reviewing maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity; the board shall review factors leading to death and preventability and develop strategies for reducing the risk of maternal mortality.
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A10344 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10344
 
SPONSOR: Gottfried
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing maternity mortality review boards   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To establish a state maternal mortality review board, and authorize counties and New York City to establish local boards, to review each maternal death, determine causes and contributing factors, and make recommendations for improving the quality of women's health care.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Adds a new Public Health Law § 2509, to create a state maternal mortal- ity review board and authorize counties and New York City to create their own local boards, to review each case of death during pregnancy or within a year of end of pregnancy, and selectively review cases of severe maternal morbidity. Provides for state and local boards to cooperate, and to obtain informa- tion on each case to be reviewed, and to make findings and recommenda- tions on preventability of each death and steps to improve women's health care and reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Provides confidentiality protection for information individually identi- fying a patient or health care provider. Provides for indemnification of board members.   JUSTIFICATION: New York state ranks 30th in the nation in terms of maternal mortality, with a rate of 20.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The mater- nal mortality rate among African-American women (54.6 deaths per 100,000 live births) is over three times higher than among white women (15.3 deaths per 100,000 live births). This bill would establish the Maternal Mortality Review Board, which would review all cases of maternal death in New York State (or in the case of the New York City board, every maternal death in New York City) to assess the cause and contributing factors of each death to reduce the risk of maternal mortality and morbidity in the state. Consisting of multidisciplinary experts in women's health care, the boards would implement an enhanced analysis to review each and every maternal death in New York State. The boards would work to develop system-wide recom- mendations on strategies to prevent maternal mortality and to address severe maternal morbidity and racial disparities in maternal outcomes. The boards would be responsible for collecting and reviewing confiden- tial information related to each maternal death; such information would remain confidential.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill. Similar legislation was included in the Executive and Assembly proposed budget legislation.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A10344 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10344
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 13, 2018
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GOTTFRIED  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Health
 
        AN ACT to amend the public  health  law,  in  relation  to  establishing
          maternity mortality review boards
 
          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 to read as follows:
     3    § 2509. Maternal mortality review board. 1. (a) There is hereby estab-
     4  lished  in  the  department  the maternal mortality review board for the
     5  purpose of reviewing maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity.  The
     6  board  shall  assess the cause of death and factors leading to death and
     7  preventability for each maternal death reviewed and, in  the  discretion
     8  of the board, cases of severe maternal morbidity, and to develop strate-
     9  gies  for  reducing  the  risk  of maternal mortality, and to assess and
    10  review severe maternal morbidity. The board shall consult  with  experts
    11  as  needed  to  evaluate the information as to maternal death and severe
    12  maternal morbidity. The commissioner may delegate the authority  of  the
    13  state board to conduct maternal mortality reviews.
    14    (b)  The  commissioner  may  enter  into  an  agreement with the local
    15  government by or under which a local board is established providing:
    16    (i) that the functions of the state board relating to maternal  deaths
    17  and  severe  maternal  morbidity  occurring  within the territory of the
    18  local government shall be conducted by the local board;
    19    (ii) the local board shall provide to the state board the  results  of
    20  its  reviews, relevant information in the possession of the local board,
    21  and the recommendations of the local board; and
    22    (iii) the department and the state board shall provide information and
    23  assistance to the local board for the performance of its functions.
    24    (b) As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
    25    (i) "Board" shall mean the maternal mortality review board established
    26  by this section and a maternal mortality review board established by  or
    27  under  a  county  department  of  health or the city of New York. "State
    28  board" shall mean the board established within the department and "local
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15284-01-8

        A. 10344                            2
 
     1  board" shall mean a board established by or under a county department of
     2  health or the city of New York.
     3    (ii)  "Maternal  death" means the death of a woman during pregnancy or
     4  within a year from the end of the pregnancy.
     5    (iii) "Severe maternal morbidity" means unexpected outcomes  of  preg-
     6  nancy, labor, or delivery that result in significant short- or long-term
     7  consequences to a woman's health.
     8    2. Each board shall:
     9    (a)  make  recommendations  to  the  commissioner, or in the case of a
    10  local board, to the appropriate  local  health  officer,  regarding  the
    11  preventability  of  each  maternal  death  case,  and any case of severe
    12  maternal morbidity reviewed by the board, by reviewing relevant informa-
    13  tion for each case in the state or the territory of the local board,  as
    14  the case may be, and regarding the improvement of women's health and the
    15  quality of health care of women and the prevention of maternal mortality
    16  and  severe  maternal  morbidity.  In addition, each board may make such
    17  recommendations to appropriate health care providers relating to a  case
    18  reviewed by the board;
    19    (b)  keep  confidential any individual identifying information as to a
    20  patient or health care provider collected under this  section  and  this
    21  information  shall  be  used  solely  for the purposes of improvement of
    22  women's health and the quality of health care of women, and  to  prevent
    23  maternal  mortality  and  morbidity. Access to such information shall be
    24  limited to board members as well as those authorized by the commissioner
    25  or, in the case of a local board, the  local  health  officer.  However,
    26  where  the  commissioner  or  local  health officer, as the case may be,
    27  believes that any such information includes evidence that the  death  or
    28  severe  maternal  morbidity  was the result of a crime committed against
    29  the woman, he or she may  provide  information  to  an  appropriate  law
    30  enforcement  agency. Such information shall not be subject to disclosure
    31  under article six of the public officers law and shall not be discovera-
    32  ble or admissible as evidence in any civil action of  any  kind  in  any
    33  court or before any other tribunal, board, agency or person;
    34    (c) develop recommendations to the commissioner and local health offi-
    35  cer,  as the case may be, for areas of focus, including issues of severe
    36  maternal morbidity and racial disparities in maternal outcomes; and
    37    (d) Issue an  annual  report  (excluding  any  individual  identifying
    38  information as to a patient or health care provider) on its findings and
    39  recommendations, which shall be a public document.
    40    3. (a) The members of the state board shall be composed of multidisci-
    41  plinary  experts  in  the field of maternal mortality and women's health
    42  and shall include health care providers or other experts who serve women
    43  and mothers in medically underserved areas of the state or areas of  the
    44  state  with disproportionately high occurrences of maternal mortality or
    45  morbidity. The state  board  shall  be  composed  of  at  least  fifteen
    46  members,  all  of whom shall be appointed by the commissioner. The terms
    47  of the state board members shall be three years from the start of  their
    48  appointment.  The  commissioner may choose to reappoint board members to
    49  additional three year terms.
    50    (b) A majority of the appointed membership of the state board, no less
    51  than three, shall constitute a quorum.
    52    (c) When any member of the state board fails to attend  three  consec-
    53  utive  regular  meetings,  unless  such  absence is for good cause, that
    54  membership may be deemed vacant for purposes of  the  appointment  of  a
    55  successor.

        A. 10344                            3

     1    (d)  Meetings  of  the state board shall be held at least twice a year
     2  but may be held more frequently as deemed necessary, subject to  request
     3  of the department.
     4    4.  Members  of  each  board  shall be indemnified pursuant to section
     5  seventeen of the public officers law or section fifty-k of  the  general
     6  municipal law, as the case may be.
     7    5.  The  commissioner,  and  in  the  case of a local board, the local
     8  health officer, may request and shall  receive  upon  request  from  any
     9  department,  division,  board,  bureau, commission, local health depart-
    10  ments or other agency of the state or political subdivision  thereof  or
    11  any  public  authority,  as  well as hospitals established under article
    12  twenty-eight of this chapter, birthing  facilities,  medical  examiners,
    13  coroners,  and  any  coroner physicians and any other facility providing
    14  services associated with maternal mortality, such  information,  includ-
    15  ing,  but  not  limited  to,  death  records,  medical  records, autopsy
    16  reports, toxicology reports, hospital discharge records,  birth  records
    17  and  any  other  information  that  will  help the department under this
    18  section to properly carry out its functions, powers and duties.
    19    § 2. The legislature finds and determines that this act relates  to  a
    20  matter of state concern.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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