Committee advances substitute to House Bill 89 to streamline maternal death autopsy process and formalize review of perinatal regions

Megan Andrews, assistant commissioner for policy at the Georgia Department of Public Health, presented the department’s agency bill, House Bill 89 (LC 57027S), intended to improve maternal health processes across the state. The bill received a substitute and was approved by the committee by voice vote.

Andrews described three principal components of the bill. First, the bill modifies an earlier 2022 requirement that maternal death autopsies be referred to regional perinatal centers; Andrews said regional perinatal centers have declined to perform autopsies due to liability concerns, so the substitute requires an autopsy but allows the Regional Medical Examiner/GBI or local medical examiner to perform it through normal channels. “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 said.

Second, the bill would amend confidentiality language to permit the maternal mortality review committee (MMRC) to access mental‑health records where necessary for case review, within the committee’s existing statutory confidentiality protections. Andrews said mental‑health conditions are rising as a cause of maternal death and access to those records is necessary for informed recommendations.

Third, the substitute creates a committee to review the state’s existing six regional perinatal centers on a four‑year cycle, modeled on the newborn screening advisory committee that evaluates additions to the newborn screening panel. The review body will recommend whether regional boundaries or additional perinatal centers are needed and permit the department to request budget resources if an additional center is justified.

Representative Cannon asked about a caveat in the bill that exempts records sharing “unless prohibited by state or federal law”; Andrews said that language was requested by the Georgia Hospital Association and ensures the department will not require providers to share information that would be illegal to share. Representative Cannon also asked about continuity of the MMRC after members were removed previously; Andrews said the department is reconstituting the committee and emphasized confidentiality was a factor when the prior committee was reconstituted.

After questions, the committee approved the substitute to House Bill 89 by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the transcript.