Medicaid’s Crucial Role in Combating the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Crisis
Patti Boozang, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and Gayle Mauser, Manatt Health
Medicaid has a pivotal role in improving national health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women. Nearly half of all U.S. births are financed by Medicaid. Medicaid-enrolled pregnant women are more likely than women enrolled in private coverage to have had a preterm birth, to have had a low birthweight baby, and to experience certain chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes)—putting them at higher risk for poor maternal outcomes. States have flexibility to shape Medicaid policy related to maternal care, including who is covered, the duration of their coverage, the benefits they receive, and the delivery system through which they receive care. Further, state Medicaid agencies, in partnership with sister agencies, can use their purchasing power and “bully pulpit” to drive broader policy and cultural change to improve maternal health outcomes and the lives and health of mothers and of their children.
This issue brief, developed by our colleagues at Manatt Health, describes select policy and strategy levers that Medicaid agencies can employ to improve maternal health outcomes and address outcome disparities in five areas: coverage, enrollment, benefits, models of care, and quality improvement. In some cases, the Medicaid agency will be responsible for implementing these policies; in other cases, the Medicaid agency can lead collaboration with other state agencies such as the public health department or the state marketplace.
On March 11, State Health and Value Strategies hosted a companion webinar that highlighted and discussed select strategies from the issue brief.
This expert perspective reviews how Medicaid programs in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have engaged with commercial payers, providers, patients, advocates and other parties to create and adhere to multi-payer aligned measure sets. It describes the benefits to Medicaid agencies of participating in aligned measure set efforts, as well as tips and resources for Medicaid agencies intersted in measure alignment.
This expert perspective provides a high-level overview of key provisions included in the “Streamlining Medicaid; Medicare Savings Program Eligibility Determination and Enrollment” final rule that will facilitate enrollment and retention of Medicare Savings Program (MSP) coverage. MSPs are state-run programs that help low-income Medicare enrollees pay their Medicare premiums and/or cost-sharing. While the final rule’s effective date is November 17, 2023, CMS delayed compliance dates for most provisions until April 1, 2026, to reflect states’ competing priorities in light of the “unwinding” of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement.