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Lawmakers hear evidence on maternity care deserts, FQHC roles, telehealth and mobile clinics
Summary
State health officials, researchers and providers outlined causes of maternity care deserts — declining births, low delivery volume, workforce and financial pressures — and discussed a range of responses including telehealth, mobile units, doula coverage, residency training and targeted Medicaid payments.
The Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee heard multiple briefings Oct. 16 on maternity care deserts across Wyoming, including which counties have never had maternity services, which recently lost labor-and-delivery units and which are showing warning signs.
Franz Fuchs, deputy director of the Wyoming Department of Health, presented the department’s mapping of "maternity deserts," categorizing counties as long-standing deserts (for example, Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Bighorn and Sublette) and newer deserts where hospitals have discontinued labor-and-delivery services, including Riverton (stopped in 2018), parts of Carbon County (2020–2022), and Platte County (most recently). Fuchs said declines in birth volume and shifting patient patterns contributed. "Labor and delivery is not a, it's kind of a loss leader," Fuchs told the committee, saying hospitals face fixed costs and low volume that can make maintaining obstetric units financially unsustainable.
A range of state and third-party presenters described potential policy tools.
- Andrew…
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