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Senate bill would require discharge plans for pregnant patients showing labor signs
Summary
Senate Bill 301 would require hospitals to prepare discharge plans for pregnant patients who show signs or symptoms consistent with labor and are discharged before delivery, including aftercare instructions, travel and transportation assessments, and identification of a backup facility; hospitals and DHA told the committee they are neutral on the bill’s flexible approach.
Sen. Pinkney introduced Senate Bill 301, which would require hospitals to create a discharge plan for any pregnant patient who exhibits signs or symptoms consistent with labor and is expected to be discharged before delivery. The plan must include aftercare instructions, confirmation those instructions were explained, an assessment of travel distance and reliable transportation, and identification of an alternate facility where labor and delivery services could be obtained if needed.
The sponsor said the measure is intended to protect maternal safety and dignity and to address disparate maternal outcomes, particularly for Black women and patients in rural or underserved communities. "This bill is about maternal safety, patient dignity and ensuring that pregnant patients are not discharged from hospitals without appropriate planning and support in place," Sen. Pinkney said.
Sen. Buxton asked whether the bill applies only when labor is imminent. The sponsor answered that the requirement applies when a patient presents with signs or symptoms consistent with labor, clarifying the bill is modeled on proposed federal language sometimes referred to in testimony as the Wells Act and is intended to be flexible rather than to mandate clinical standards. "The bill doesn't require specific discharge plans other than there just being a plan for each patient," the sponsor said.
Christina O'Brien, vice president of external affairs for the Delaware Health Care Association, testified that DHA and hospital partners are neutral on the bill’s language but generally resist legislating clinical standards. "We do appreciate that Senator Pinkney made this bill as kind of flexible as possible," O'Brien said, while thanking the sponsor for collaboration with hospital labor-and-delivery leads.
No formal committee vote on the bill was recorded at the hearing. The sponsor invited further questions and public comment and said she would work with stakeholders on implementation details before floor consideration.
