Lawmakers look to combat emerging ‘maternity deserts’ in Wyoming

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, who chairs the Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, said maternity health care and child-care issues were listed as the first priority for the interim.

There is an “emergence of maternity deserts” in Wyoming. The state lost two maternity wards in the last two years, Zwonitzer said, and a third maternity ward is “under tremendous pressure.” Committee members are working to save existing maternity services, as well as recruit new services to impacted parts of the state.

Committee members will hear from both the University of Wyoming’s Maternal Health Innovation Program and the Obstetrician Subcommittee of the Governor’s Health Task Force over the interim.

Management Council member Sen. Dave Kinskey, R-Sheridan, asked whether the maternity health care deserts were “unique to the maternity realm.”

“I thought there were places all over Wyoming where there was just a health care desert,” Kinskey said. “Should this be a broader look at what is causing these health care deserts, generally?”

The Sheridan senator said there is a trend of larger hospitals buying out smaller, local hospitals and cutting back their services. Committee co-chair Sen. Fred Baldwin, R-Kemmerer, said this was a separate issue from maternity health services, but still a significant one.

Baldwin said missing OB-GYN care in hospitals is a “travesty” for expecting mothers, especially in an emergency situation.

“It’s a significant risk for the infant, for the mom, for everybody,” Baldwin said.

Zwonitzer agreed access to health care services is of major concern. However, there are significant costs for providers who practice in maternity care. On top of losing two maternity wards, Wyoming is in danger of potentially losing two more, he added.

“Specifically, we don’t want people having to travel more than two hours to give birth or seek these services,” Zwonitzer said.

Management Council member Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, referred to a WyoFile article where she learned that half of Wyoming counties lack an OB-GYN. The article also reported that nearly a quarter of the state’s OB-GYN practitioners have left since 2022.

“It is a significant concern regarding infant mortality, prenatal care and women’s health care, in general,” Nethercott said. “It is a troubling trend that needs to be corrected that goes beyond rural health care challenges.”

Child-care facilities is another major issue that emerged over the last four years, Zwonitzer added, where parents struggle to find access to adequate child-care services.

“That’s certainly been an economic development issue we’ve heard for more than a decade,” he said.

The second priority of the Labor, Health and Social Services Committee is to create a permanent health care authority in the executive branch, similar to the Wyoming Energy Authority.

Zwonitzer told Management Council members that health care currently makes up 19% of Wyoming’s economy, and is a major driver in business development and residential retention.

“It’s a serious economic driver throughout the state and all of our communities on how to afford health care,” Zwonitzer said.

The executive branch developed a proposal for the committee to establish a permanent health care authority, which would study data and federal programs aimed to drive down health care costs. Wyoming has some of the highest health care costs in the country, Zwonitzer said, and poses a burden on the state’s aging population and overall economic performance.

“It discourages businesses and people, especially young people, from moving here,” he said.

A full list of proposed interim topics is available through wyoleg.gov, under the “Meeting Materials” tab of the Management Council’s April 1 meeting.