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Senator Amanda Ragan aims to improve health for moms and babies

The following is a legislative update from State Senator Amanda Ragan, representing Franklin, Butler and Cerro Gordo counties:

Amanda Ragan
Maternal health in Iowa is experiencing a crisis. Maternal mortality has increased at an alarming rate in recent years. Maternal deaths went from fewer than 15 in 2008 to almost 50 in 2019, according to Dr. Stephen Hunter, co-director for Perinatal Care at the Iowa Department of Public Health.

A big part of the problem is Iowa’s shrinking health care options and workforce:

· Iowa has seen 34 labor and delivery units close since 2000.
· Our state has the lowest number of obstetricians per capita in the country; 64% of rural Level 1 hospitals have no obstetrician on staff.
· Iowa has a high rate of cesarean births, as a result, which can lead to future health problems.

About 40% of births in Iowa are covered by Medicaid, but privatized Medicaid doesn’t cover the costs for delivering babies if health care providers follow the recommended standard of care, so hospitals lose money by providing labor and delivery services.

That’s why I’m signing on to the Healthy Moms and Babies Act (SF 2062), which will:

· Adjust Medicaid rates so that hospitals are adequately reimbursed for the care they provide.
· Ensure labor and delivery units use proven practices—known as “safety bundles”—that save lives during delivery.
· Expand home visiting services for pregnant women, new moms and babies.

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