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.
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.
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.
