HB 729: Georgia Maternity Care Desert Reduction Act; enact

Georgia has many counties classified as maternity care deserts, places with no hospitals, birth centers, or obstetric providers, and others with very limited access to maternity care. This bill, called the Georgia Maternity Care Desert Reduction Act, adds a new article to the state public health code to address this gap. It creates a student loan repayment program for obstetricians, family physicians, certified nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners who agree to work in these underserved areas. It also creates a grant program for hospitals and birthing centers in those areas to recruit staff, upgrade facilities, and partner with larger medical centers, and a state funded program to help uninsured or underinsured pregnant women in these areas pay for care, transportation, telehealth, and child care. All three programs depend on the General Assembly actually appropriating money for them in future budget bills. The Department of Public Health must set rules, run application processes, and report annually to state leaders on how many people used each program and how much money was spent. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates a student loan repayment program for obstetric providers who agree to practice in Georgia counties with little or no maternity care access.
• Creates a grant program for hospitals, clinics, and birth centers in underserved counties to recruit staff, upgrade obstetric facilities, and build partnerships with larger medical centers.
• Creates a state funded assistance program to help uninsured or underinsured pregnant women in these areas pay for obstetric care, transportation, telehealth, and child care.
• Requires the Department of Public Health to set eligibility rules, run application processes, and publish program information online.
• Requires an annual report to the Governor and legislative leaders on participation numbers and spending, plus biennial recommendations on whether to continue or adjust the programs.
• Makes all three programs contingent on the General Assembly actually setting aside money for them in the state budget each year.

Obstetric providers such as OB-GYNs, family physicians who deliver babies, certified nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners with student loan debt; hospitals, clinics, and birth centers in low-access counties; uninsured or underinsured pregnant women living in those counties; and the Department of Public Health, which would administer the new programs.

Roughly a third of Georgia's counties currently lack adequate maternity care, contributing to high maternal mortality rates. If funded, this bill could help bring more obstetric providers and facilities to those areas and help low-income pregnant women there afford care, transportation, and child care during pregnancy.

• Section 2 states legislative findings that about 34.6 percent of Georgia counties are maternity care deserts and that the state has high maternal mortality with racial disparities.
• New Code Section 31-2A-70 defines key terms including 'maternity care desert,' 'low access to maternity care area,' 'obstetric provider,' and 'state program participant.'
• New Code Section 31-2A-71 sets up the student loan repayment program, with payments made in installments over up to five years in exchange for the recipient working as an obstetric provider in an underserved area.
• New Code Section 31-2A-72 establishes a grant program for perinatal facilities to recruit providers, upgrade obstetric units, and partner with larger medical centers.
• New Code Section 31-2A-73 creates a state funded program, run with the Department of Community Health and the Commissioner of Insurance, to help pregnant women pay for care, transportation, telehealth, and child care.
• New Code Section 31-2A-74 allows the department to accept donations and pursue federal or private funding for these programs.
• New Code Section 31-2A-75 requires an annual report on program participation and spending, plus biennial recommendations to the General Assembly.
• All three programs are made contingent on annual state appropriations, and the Act takes effect immediately upon the Governor's signature.

1. 2025-03-06House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-04House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-03-04House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)Patrocinador principal
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Miriam Paris (D, HD-142)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)

• maternal health
• rural healthcare access
• student loan repayment
• hospital funding
• pregnancy assistance programs