ASSEMBLY, No. 3654

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE

District 37 (Bergen)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires DOH to develop New Jersey Report Card of Hospital Maternity Care.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  

An Act concerning hospitals and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.  The Commissioner of Health shall gather and compile information necessary to develop a New Jersey Report Card of Hospital Maternity Care, as provided for in this act.  The report card, which shall be updated annually and made available on the website of the Department of Health, shall be designed to inform members of the public about maternity care provided in each general hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), so that a member of the public is able to make an informed comparison.

 

     2.  For each hospital, the report card shall include:

     a.  the number of vaginal deliveries performed;

     b.  the number of cesarean deliveries performed; and

     c.  the rate of complications experienced by a patient receiving maternity care:

     (1) for a vaginal delivery, which shall include the rate of maternal hemorrhage, laceration, infection, or other complication as prescribed by the Commissioner of Health; and

     (2) for a caesarean delivery, which shall include the rate of maternal hemorrhage, infection, operative complication, or other complication as prescribed by the Commissioner of Health.

 

     3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of this act to the contrary, the commissioner shall revise or add complications or other factors to be included in the report card based on maternal quality indicators as may be recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

 

     4.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires the Commissioner of Health to gather and compile information necessary to develop a New Jersey Report Card of Hospital Maternity Care.  The report card is to be designed to inform members of the public about maternity care provided by each general hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), and would be made available on the website of the Department of Health and updated annually.

     For each hospital, the report card is to include the number of vaginal deliveries performed, the number of cesarean deliveries performed, and the rates of certain complications listed in the bill, based on the type of delivery.

     The bill also provides that the commissioner is to revise or add factors to be included in the report card based on maternal quality indicators as may be recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

     According to an article in the August 2014 edition of the magazine Health Affairs, the rate of obstetrical complications varies across hospitals.  This bill is intended to help families select a hospital based on information about maternity care at hospitals in the State.