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Committee approves substitute to House Bill 89 to clarify maternal death autopsy process and MMRC access to records
Summary
The committee passed a substitute to House Bill 89 after a departmental presentation; the bill removes the requirement that maternal autopsies go to regional perinatal centers, allows maternal mortality review committee access to certain mental-health records for review, and establishes a statutory review committee for regional perinatal centers.
The House Public and Community Health Committee approved a substitute to House Bill 89, the Department of Public Health’s agency bill aimed at improving maternal health processes and strengthening maternal mortality review capacity.
Megan Andrews, assistant commissioner for policy at the Georgia Department of Public Health, summarized the agency bill and its three main provisions: clarification of autopsy routing for maternal deaths, amendment of confidentiality provisions to allow the maternal mortality review committee (MMRC) access to mental-health records for review purposes, and the creation of a statutory advisory committee to review the regional perinatal center system every four years and recommend changes.
Andrews said regional perinatal centers had declined to conduct autopsies, citing liability concerns, and the substitute removes the statutory requirement that maternal autopsies be referred to those specialized centers. "We have been attempting to implement that legislation since 2022 and the regional perinatal centers do not want to do autopsies citing liability concerns," Andrews told the committee.
On mental-health records, Andrews told members the department seeks limited access so the MMRC can make informed recommendations: "mental health conditions continues to rise as a leading cause of death" and access to relevant records would help the committee’s review, she said. The bill retains strong confidentiality protections for MMRC data, the presenter said.
The bill also establishes a structured review of the six regional perinatal centers and a process for making budget requests if an additional center is needed. Andrews compared the proposed structure to the statutory newborn screening advisory committee the Legislature created in 2021.
A motion to pass the substitute was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally appears in the committee record. Committee members asked clarifying questions about the new statutory language, confidentiality caveats requested by hospital stakeholders and transport/EMT considerations for maternal transfers; Andrews said operational details about transport and medications would be part of the committee’s four-year review and left to subject-matter experts.
The committee approved passage of the substitute to House Bill 89 by voice vote.
