Texas delays publication of maternal death data until after midterms, legislative session
Greg is scared and is hiding information that he knows hurts him
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Texas-delays-publication-of-maternal-death-data-17439477.php
Texas health officials have missed a key window to complete the states first major updated count of pregnancy related deaths in nearly a decade, saying the findings will now be released next summer, most likely after the Legislatures biennial session.
The delay, disclosed earlier this month by the Department of State Health Services, means lawmakers wont likely be able to use the analysis, covering deaths from 2019, until the 2025 legislative cycle. The most recent state-level data available is nine years old.
In a hearing this month with the states Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, DSHS commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt said the agency wanted to better align its methodology with that of other states, and that there hadnt been enough staff and money to finish the review for a scheduled Sept. 1 release.
The information we provide is not easily understood, and not easily and readily comparable to what goes on in other states, Hellerstedt told the committee. And the fact it isnt easily understood or easily comparable in my mind leaves room for a great deal of misunderstanding about what the data really means.