MO HB735

Creates the Perinatal Advisory Council, a 14-member body appointed by the governor with representatives from medical professional organizations, hospitals, and infant mortality prevention groups

Requires the council to recommend how to divide Missouri into neonatal and maternal care regions based on geographic proximity, hospital systems, and insurance networks

Establishes standards for birthing hospital care levels, including requirements for stabilizing neonates before transport, managing delivery complications, and conducting postnatal reviews of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality

Standards must align with American Academy of Pediatrics and American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines for levels of neonatal and maternal care

Hospital license applications must include maternal and neonatal care level designations beginning January 1, 2016, with department regulations required by January 1, 2017