Pasco Reporter

Washington, DC:  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just updated its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform to incorporate maternal health data as directed by the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act which was authored by U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis and signed into law in 2022.  This change enables policymakers, public health experts, clinicians, researchers, innovators, and other stakeholders to better explore the intersection of broadband availability and maternal health.   The United States is the only developed country with increasing maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity rates, with approximately 700 women dying each year in pregnancy related deaths.  Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that as many as 3 out of 5 of these deaths and complications are preventable.  According to the CDC, pregnant women living in rural areas without access to appropriate health care providers are 60% more likely to die than women living in non-rural areas.  In addition to mortality and morbidity data, the mapping platform now highlights the areas where critical telehealth resources are most needed, including by the millions of women living in “maternity care deserts,” the term used to refer to areas of the country where there are no hospitals or birth centers offering obstetric care and no obstetric providers.

"We need to use every tool at our disposal to improve health outcomes for moms and babies. Including this information into our broadband mapping will help us achieve this goal and is an important step forward in ensuring these moms get the prenatal care they deserve," said Representative Bilirakis. “It will allow us to allocate broadband resources in a way that most effectively benefits our nation's mothers, including improving access to telehealth in the areas with most urgent need. We can and must do better!”

Specifically, the public can use this platform to:

• Intersect broadband data and maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity rates at the state level.
• Determine how connectivity and access to obstetric care coincide at the county level, revealing “double burden” counties with high health need and lower connectivity resources.
• View connectivity metrics (e.g., internet adoption, download speed) and maternal health data filtered by rurality, race/ethnicity, and maternal age to visualize patterns, possible disparities, and areas where broadband-enabled interventions could create the greatest impact.
• Visualize the intersection of broadband and mental health provider shortages, given the association between mental health and poor maternal health outcomes. 

This week’s implementation of Bilirakis’s legislation is an important first step in addressing this public health crisis and Congressman Bilirakis looks forward to additional efforts to build upon this milestone.