Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is launching new efforts to combat maternal depression and prevent maternal mortality in New York state.

Cuomo will direct the Department of Financial Services to require all health insurance policies include coverage for maternal depression screening, and will launch a new Maternal Mortality Review Board. The announcements come as New York is ranked 30th in the nation for maternal mortality rates.

“New York is committed to ensuring that women receive high quality health care at every stage of their lives, and with these new, comprehensive efforts, we are once again taking action to break down barriers to health care access and provide skillful and compassionate care to all New Yorkers,” Cuomo said. “These initiatives will work to correct unacceptable racial disparities in health outcomes, provide critical support to new and expecting parents, and help ensure a healthier and stronger New York for all.”

Maternal depression affects as many as one in seven mothers nationally. Screening increases detection, diagnosis and intervention for maternal depression, which is treatable if identified early. Many front-line health care providers lack sufficient training to treat post-partum depression, too many women lack access to information about available services and stigma is a barrier between families and the mental health services they may need.

Cuomo will direct the Department of Financial Services to require that all health insurance policies issued in the state include coverage for maternal depression screening by both adult and pediatric primary care providers, as well as speedy referrals to treatment specialists. Insurance policies that cover the child but not the parent, must provide coverage for maternal depression screening, as a critically important preventative care intervention for the health of the child. This directive will build upon additional measures to expedite referrals and treatment, including expansion of Project TEACH to connect primary care providers with mental health specialists, enhanced screening and referrals at WIC clinics and increased access to telepsychiatry for those in rural communities.

Cuomo will also direct the Department of Health and the Office of Mental Health to launch a strategic awareness campaign to provide critical information about symptoms and treatment options, and to more broadly remove the stigma associated with maternal depression. Cuomo said he also wants the Office of Mental Health to advance specialty programs to treat maternal depression, including a mother-baby inpatient unit and outpatient programs that focus on maternal depression.

The Department of Health implemented the Maternal Mortality Review and Prevention Initiative in 2010 to review all maternal deaths with the goal of ensuring a comprehensive review of factors leading to maternal deaths in New York state. The committee is comprised of clinicians and other key stakeholders from professional organizations and hospitals to review aggregate data and provide recommendations for prevention and improvements in medical care and to identify focus areas for education and quality improvement.

Although the initiative has led to improvements in reducing maternal mortality rates since 2010, New York state ranks 30th in the nation for lowest maternal mortality rate.

In an effort to protect families and prevent future maternal deaths, the state Health Department will form a Maternal Mortality Review Board that will implement an enhanced multidisciplinary analysis of each and every maternal death in the New York state and to develop actionable recommendations to improve maternal outcomes and clinical care. The MMR Board will also be tasked with developing recommendations to the Commissioner of Health on strategies to address Severe Maternal Morbidity and racial disparities.

The Health Department is partnering with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other maternal health partners, including the Healthcare Association of New York State, Greater New York Hospital Association and the New York Academy of Medicine, to guide the implementation of the MMR Board, which will be comprised of leading clinical experts.