Addressing maternal mortality in rural America

CMS, along with the American Academy of Family Physicians and other health groups, is hosting an event today to examine the impact of shuttering rural health centers amid the growing rates of maternal mortality in the U.S. Half of all U.S. counties lack a gynecologist or obstetrician, which often means that pregnant women in rural counties end up traveling more than 30 minutes to get health care. This is especially troubling considering that the U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rates among developed countries. Today’s event will bring together health policy and reproductive health experts — including from the CDC —  to discuss improving access to health care in rural America as well as policies that improve rural maternal care.