Zincwarrior
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- Nov 18, 2021
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Nearly half of Texas counties have problems providing adequate healthcare. I would bet they have similar problems providing healthcare in general. Many of these counties are deep deep rural - Permian Basin and East Texas.
Report: Almost 47% of Texas counties are ‘maternity care deserts’
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new report by the charity March of Dimes and healthcare insurer Amerigroup Foundation claims that 46.5% of Texas counties are “maternity care deserts” that lack …
www.kxan.com
Report: Almost 47% of Texas counties are ‘maternity care deserts’
by: Cora Neas
Posted: Aug 1, 2023 / 06:00 AM CDT
Updated: Jul 28, 2023 / 05:27 PM CDT
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new report by the charity March of Dimes and healthcare insurer Amerigroup Foundation claims that 46.5% of Texas counties are “maternity care deserts” that lack adequate health care for those who can become or are pregnant.
The report, titled “Where you Live Matters: Maternity Care in Texas” categorized the state’s counties by looking at the following:
A breakdown of how the counties were evaluated for each category:
- How many hospitals and/or birth centers offer obstetric care;
- How many obstetric care providers work there; and,
- Proportion of women between the ages of 18-64 lack health insurance.
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A map of maternity care deserts in Texas. (Courtesy: March of Dimes)
“More than 2 million women of childbearing age live in maternity care deserts, areas without access to birthing facilities or maternity care providers,” the report’s introduction reads. “Access to maternity care is essential for preventing poor health outcomes and eliminating health disparities.”
To put Texas into a national context, the report states that 32.6% of counties in the U.S. are maternity care deserts. The national situation has improved slightly from March of Dimes’ 2022 report (34.9%).
“All women deserve health care which is safe, effective, timely, efficient and equitable,” the report concludes. “Consistent and equitable access to maternity care helps women maintain optimal health as well as reduce the risk of experiencing complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period.”
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The report also examined Texans’ distance to maternity care, the availability of family planning services, disparities in prenatal care, and chronic health conditions and preterm births.
Texans have shorter drives to the hospital
A longer drive to a birth center or hospital leads to worse outcomes for an infant and higher risk of maternal death.
In a Texas maternal care desert, that distance is 4.5 times farther, the report claims. On average, maternity care is farther than 30 miles for someone in a maternity care desert. Limited access averages 17 miles to care, and full access is around 6.7 miles.
(Courtesy March of Dimes)
Still, Texans have a shorter drive than the national average: 8.2 miles in Texas is 1.5 miles closer than the national average.