Bill
HB 5172
MI establishes a DHHS-run registry assigning Level I-IV maternal care status to hospitals, publicly listing verified facilities and offering incentives for compliance.
Status and sponsor
- Enacted as Public Act No. 249 (2024). Approved by the Governor Jan 21, 2025; effective April 2, 2025.
- Original sponsor: Rep. Carol Glanville.
- Adds section 9129 to the Public Health Code (MCL 333.9129).
Purpose / intent
- Create a state-run registry and recognition program for hospitals that provide maternal care (“perinatal facilities”), allowing facilities to be registered by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as Level I, II, III, or IV maternal care facilities. The goal is to identify and publicize the maternal care capability of hospitals and support alignment with national maternal levels-of-care standards.
Key provisions
- DHHS program: Subject to appropriation, DHHS must establish and implement a program to register perinatal facilities as Level I–IV maternal care facilities.
- Verification requirement: DHHS must register a facility if it demonstrates it holds a Level I–IV verification from The Joint Commission or an equivalent organization (as determined by DHHS).
- Reporting cycle: Facilities must report such verification to DHHS once every 3 years, on forms/manner required by DHHS.
- Public registry: DHHS must publish and maintain an online list of registered perinatal facilities and their confirmed maternal level of care, updating the list within 30 days of registration. DHHS may remove a facility that no longer meets criteria.
- Advertising restriction: Only facilities registered under the program may describe themselves as providing or holding a Level I–IV maternal care designation.
- Consultation and partnerships: DHHS must consult stakeholders (e.g., Michigan Perinatal Quality Collaborative, MI Health & Hospital Assn., Michigan Council for Maternal Child Health, ACOG, ACNM) and enter into partnerships with the Joint Commission’s maternal levels verification program and ACOG’s obstetric care consensus.
- Technical and financial support: DHHS may provide on-site technical assistance and, subject to appropriation, may award incentive payments to registered facilities. Incentive award criteria include data collection/reporting, patient volume, practice guidelines, coordination/referrals, and implementation of safety bundles.
- Definition: “Perinatal facility” = hospital licensed under Article 17 that provides maternal care.
Who is affected
- Hospitals that provide maternal/perinatal services (including county/local government hospitals).
- DHHS: program development, administration, website maintenance, potential incentive payments and technical assistance.
- Pregnant patients and referring providers: improved transparency about regional maternal care capacity.
- Local governments operating hospitals: potential costs to meet verification criteria.
Fiscal and operational impact
- Indeterminate increase in state expenditures for DHHS to create/manage the program and for possible incentive payments (amount depends on appropriations).
- Potential increased costs for hospitals (especially public hospitals) to obtain/maintain external verification or meet standards.
- Expected benefits: clearer public information on maternal care capacity and potential quality improvement support via technical assistance and incentives.
Key statutory detail
- New statutory section: MCL 333.9129.
- Registration verification frequency: every 3 years.
- Website update requirement: within 30 days of registration.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
