Idaho becomes 1st state without formal maternal death review process

The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal deaths in high-income countries and Idaho is above the national average. Despite this, Idaho legislators have rejected the formation of a permanent committee to formally review such deaths, KFF Health News reported July 7.

State legislators, who also rejected a proposal to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, decided not to extend a sunset date for a panel set up in 2019 to review maternal deaths.

In doing so, Idaho becomes the only state not to have a maternal mortality review committee.

The U.S. had 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, according to CDC data. That is even higher than the country's 2020 figure of 23.8; that year, Canada and Germany had rates of 8.4 and 3.6 deaths, respectively. 

Idaho's rate was 41.8 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, with about half of such deaths occurring postpartum.

The news comes shortly after a number of Idaho health systems said they will eliminate maternal care services. Sandpoint, Idaho-based Bonner General Hospital, for example, said in March it would stop delivering babies, pointing to strict abortion laws and a loss of expert providers.



Copyright © 2025 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.


You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy
.
 

Articles We Think You'll Like