Bill > SB182

This bill renames the existing maternal mortality review panel to the maternal mortality review committee and makes several significant changes to its structure and operations. The committee will now be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and jointly facilitated by the New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NHPQC) affiliated with Dartmouth Health. The bill expands the committee's membership to include representatives from the Division for Children, Youth and Families and the Department of Corrections, bringing the total membership to 11. It also broadens the definition of "pregnancy-related death" to include deaths from all causes within one year of pregnancy, removing the previous exclusion for accidental or incidental causes. The bill maintains the committee's core purpose of conducting comprehensive reviews of maternal deaths to identify factors contributing to these deaths and recommend systemic improvements. The committee retains its confidentiality protections, meaning its proceedings and records cannot be used in legal proceedings, and members cannot be questioned about information discussed during reviews. The commissioner of Health and Human Services will continue to be responsible for appointing members and overseeing the committee's work, with an annual report to be submitted to the oversight committee on health and human services describing reviewed adverse events, statistics, causes, and recommendations for system changes.

Government Affairs

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=1108&sy=2025&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2025&txtbillnumber=SB182