Lakeway Hospital Stops Birthing Services

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Lakeway will close its maternity unit and stop delivering babies on June 28. The hospital is working to connect expectant mothers with care at other nearby hospitals. Only 33 babies a month were born at that hospital last year. The hospital noted that the community of Lakeway is aging and plans to focus on services more needed in the area. Babies could still be delivered in an emergency in the emergency department. Other area hospitals with maternity wards are listed with travel times from the Lakeway location. A 2024 March of Dimes study found that 4.6% of women in Texas do not have a maternity hospital within a 30-minute drive. People in Texas who live in a "maternity care desert" are traveling 30.6 miles on average to a hospital with a maternity unit. It is true that Lakeway's population is aging. The U.S. Census notes that 23% of Lakeway is 65 or older, double the rate for the Austin area. Nationally, 25% of maternity units closed from 2011 to 2021. Only 40% of rural hospitals in Texas have a maternity unit. UT Health Houston noted that maternity units are often the first to shut down when hospitals struggle to keep their doors open. Labor and delivery units typically lose money because of the Medicaid reimbursement rates. About 48% of all births in Texas are covered by Medicaid. In Texas in 2022, Medicaid paid $3,526 per birth, but an employer insurance plan paid $12,992 per birth on average.