§ 74.09.810. Alternative maternity care service delivery system established -- Remedial action report
(1) The department shall establish an alternative maternity care service delivery system, if it determines that a county or a group of counties is a maternity care distressed area. A maternity care distressed area shall be defined by the department, in rule, as a county or a group of counties where eligible women are unable to obtain adequate maternity care. The department shall include the following factors in its determination:
(a) Higher than average percentage of eligible persons in the distressed area who receive late or no prenatal care;
(b) Higher than average percentage of eligible persons in the distressed area who go out of the area to receive maternity care;
(c) Lower than average percentage of obstetrical care providers in the distressed area who provide care to eligible persons;
(d) Higher than average percentage of infants born to eligible persons per obstetrical care provider in the distressed area; and
(e) Higher than average percentage of infants that are of low birth weight, five and one-half pounds or two thousand five hundred grams, born to eligible persons in the distressed area.
(2) If the department determines that a maternity care distressed area exists, it shall notify the relevant county authority. The county authority shall, within one hundred twenty days, submit a brief report to the department recommending remedial action. The report shall be prepared in consultation with the department and its local community service offices, the local public health officer, community health clinics, health care providers, hospitals, the business community, labor representatives, and low-income advocates in the distressed area. A county authority may contract with a local nonprofit entity to develop the report. If the county authority is unwilling or unable to develop the report, it shall notify the department within thirty days, and the department shall develop the report for the distressed area.
(3) The department shall review the report and use it, to the extent possible, in developing strategies to improve maternity care access in the distressed area. The department may contract with or directly employ qualified maternity care health providers to provide maternity care services, if access to such providers in the distressed area is not possible by other means. In such cases, the department is authorized to pay that portion of the health care providers' malpractice liability insurance that represents the percentage of maternity care provided to eligible persons by that provider through increased medical assistance payments.
[1989 1st ex.s. c 10 § 6.]
Sections: Previous 74.09.720 74.09.725 74.09.730 74.09.740 74.09.755 74.09.760 74.09.770 74.09.780 74.09.790 74.09.800 74.09.810 74.09.820 74.09.850 74.09.900 74.09.910 NextLast modified: April 7, 2009