Access to maternal health care in Pennsylvania is becoming increasingly hard to come by. A 2023 report from the March of Dimes noted that 7.5% of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties met the criteria to be classified as maternity care deserts. With rural hospital closures also becoming more common, at least 21 counties have no hospitals that provide maternity care services, meaning that pregnant women are traveling farther, waiting longer to receive needed care. Research shows that longer travel times negatively affect outcomes for both mothers and children, and we simply must do more to ensure that families have access to care without enduring long travel times.
 
To rectify these issues, I plan to introduce legislation targeted at expanding access to maternal care throughout our state, with a special focus on increasing the number of birth centers in maternal care deserts and in regions where there are hospital closures. My legislation will establish a grant program to assist birth centers with certain costs related to facility operations, as well as a tax credit as further incentive. Additionally, my legislation will promote equitable resource distribution across rural areas and chronically underfunded areas of our state.
 
Please consider joining me in co-sponsoring this legislation to increase the accessibility of maternal care and improve birthing equity in Pennsylvania.