AN ACT TO CREATE THE FETAL AND INFANT MORTALITY REVIEW PANEL TO REVIEW FETAL DEATHS AND DEATHS OF INFANTS UP TO ONE YEAR OF AGE AND ESTABLISH STRATEGIES TO PREVENT INFANT DEATHS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE REVIEW PANEL SHALL BE MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND COMPOSED OF SUCH MEMBERS AS DEEMED APPROPRIATE BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO REQUIRE THE REVIEW PANEL TO SUBMIT A REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE HOUSE AND SENATE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEES THAT INCLUDE THE NUMBERS, CAUSES AND RELEVANT DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON INFANT MORTALITY DEATHS IN MISSISSIPPI, AND APPROPRIATE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE ON HOW TO MOST EFFECTIVELY DIRECT STATE RESOURCES TO DECREASE INFANT MORTALITY IN THE STATE; TO REQUIRE THAT DATA SHALL BE PROVIDED TO THE REVIEW PANEL BY THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE, STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, MEDICAL EXAMINERS, CORONERS, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, AND ANY OTHER AGENCIES OR OFFICIALS HAVING INFORMATION THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE REVIEW PANEL TO CARRY OUT ITS DUTIES; TO REQUIRE PHYSICIANS, HOSPITALS AND PHARMACIES TO PROVIDE REASONABLE ACCESS TO THE REVIEW PANEL TO ALL RELEVANT MEDICAL RECORDS ASSOCIATED WITH A CASE UNDER REVIEW BY THE REVIEW PANEL; TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, RECORDS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE REVIEW PANEL ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND NOT SUBJECT TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OR SUBPOENA, DISCOVERY OR INTRODUCTION INTO EVIDENCE; TO AUTHORIZE THE REVIEW PANEL TO INITIATE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS AGAINST AGENCIES OR OFFICIALS THAT DO NOT PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE PANEL IN A COMPLETE AND TIMELY MANNER; TO AMEND SECTION 25-41-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO EXEMPT CERTAIN QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT, AND REVIEW RECORDS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FROM THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH RECORDS SHALL BE CONFIDENTIAL AND NOT SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE, SUBPOENA, OR DISCOVERY; TO EXEMPT CERTAIN RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH AND RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL LICENSING INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT WHEN DISCLOSURE WOULD POSE A RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH OR SECURITY; TO AMEND SECTION 25-41-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND CERTAIN PANELS, COMMITTEES, SYSTEMS, OR PROGRAMS ESTABLISHED, DESIGNATED, ADMINISTERED, OR SUPPORTED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR PURPOSES OF QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT, PEER REVIEW, PATIENT SAFETY, MORBIDITY OR MORTALITY REVIEW, OR SYSTEM EVALUATION TO CONDUCT CLOSED MEETINGS OR EXECUTIVE SESSIONS FOR THE DISCUSSION OF CONFIDENTIAL QUALITY ASSURANCE AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT MATTERS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
HB662 creates the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Panel within the Mississippi State Department of Health to review fetal deaths and deaths of infants under one year of age and to identify strategies to reduce infant mortality. The panel is to be multidisciplinary, may form subcommittees, and will be staffed administratively by the department. It must produce an annual report to the House and Senate public health committees by December 1, including the number of deaths, causes, relevant demographic information, and recommendations for directing state resources to reduce infant mortality.
The bill also requires a broad set of state and local entities, including the State Medical Examiner’s office, Department of Human Services, coroners, law enforcement, health care providers, physicians, hospitals, and pharmacies, to provide information and reasonable access to relevant medical records for cases under review. It grants good-faith immunity to providers that release records, authorizes enforcement actions to compel compliance, and makes the panel’s records, proceedings, and related materials confidential and exempt from the Open Meetings Act, Public Records Act, subpoena, discovery, and evidentiary use. The bill further amends open meetings and public records law to exempt the panel and to allow closed sessions for certain Department of Health quality assurance, peer review, patient safety, morbidity and mortality review, and system evaluation activities, while also creating a confidentiality exemption for certain radiological health and radioactive material licensing information when disclosure could pose a public health or security risk.
HB662 would add a new statutory review structure focused on maternal and infant death surveillance and prevention, while also expanding confidentiality protections for Department of Health quality-improvement and mortality-review records. It would amend Sections 25-41-3 and 25-41-7 of the Mississippi Code to exempt the new panel from open-meetings requirements and to authorize closed meetings for specified health department review functions. It would also create new public-records exemptions for quality assurance and performance improvement materials and for certain security-sensitive radiological health information, affecting access to records held by the Department of Health and related entities.
The bill appears to be framed as a public health and child welfare measure, with an emphasis on data collection, review, and prevention of infant deaths. Because no committee transcript or vote record is provided, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to measure directly. Based on the text, the bill’s overall posture is preventive and administrative rather than punitive, and it is designed to facilitate candid review by protecting sensitive information.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s broad confidentiality provisions and its requirement that agencies and providers turn over records, including medical records, to the review panel. Supporters are likely to emphasize the need for candid, protected review to improve infant mortality outcomes, while critics may focus on reduced transparency, limits on public access to records, and the panel’s authority to seek enforcement through mandamus, injunctions, and fee-shifting. Another possible concern is the breadth of the Department of Health exemptions for quality assurance, peer review, and radiological security information, which could be viewed as expanding secrecy beyond the new mortality review panel itself.