By Kristen Hwang

WHAT THE BILLS WOULD DO

Two bills on the governor’s desk aim to improve transparency when a hospital plans to shut down its maternity ward and help state agencies understand the ripple effects of growing labor and delivery “deserts.”

If a hospital plans to close labor and delivery or inpatient psychiatric services, SB 1300 by Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from Campbell, would require public notification four months in advance. The hospital would also need to hold a public hearing with its county board of supervisors and report why it is eliminating services and how its patients may be affected.

AB 1895 by Assemblymember Akilah Weber, a Democrat from La Mesa, would require hospitals to notify state regulators, including the Department of Public Health, of challenges keeping maternity services open. Regulators would be required to assess how service cuts would affect the community and identify the next closest hospitals with operating labor and delivery wards.

WHO SUPPORTS THEM

Cortese’s proposal is co-sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and supported by a number of behavioral health associations and consumer advocates. Supporters of Weber’s measure include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX, the California Nurse-Midwives Association, and Reproductive Freedom for All California, which all co-sponsored the legislation. 

WHO IS OPPOSED

The California Hospital Association had opposed Cortese’s measure, arguing that it does not address the underlying financial and staffing challenges many hospitals are struggling with, and may make it more difficult to keep services running. The association dropped its opposition on Aug. 28, after an amendment decreased how much information hospitals would be required to report.

Weber’s bill is unopposed.

WHY IT MATTERS

Maternity wards are closing in California at an unprecedented rate. More than 50 hospitals have closed or reduced labor and delivery services in the past decade with at least eight more closures planned this year, according to an ongoing CalMatters investigation. In addition, birth centers, which can handle low-risk pregnancies, are also shutting down rapidly.

CalMatters reporting has revealed that these losses disproportionately impact low-income and Latino communities.

GOVERNOR’S CALLS ✅❌

Newsom announced Sept. 28 he had signed SB 1300. But he announced Sept. Sept. 29 he vetoed AB 1895, saying in his veto message that current law already requires public notice: “Further, this bill creates costly administrative burdens for the state that are unlikely to change hospitals’ business decisions.”