Strategies for Improving the Deteriorating Maternal Health in the United States
In the United States, more than 40,000 babies die after birth or are stillborn every year, a concerning statistic that has not seen a significant improvement in nearly two decades. Despite this, a proposed nationwide managed care program for pregnancy, birth, and infant care, known as Medi-Mom, aims to address this issue and improve maternal and child health.
Medi-Mom, while not explicitly named in the search results, shares similarities with a program run by the Veterans Health Administration that provides mothers and infants with comprehensive social, physical, and mental health support.
About 41 percent of U.S. births are covered by Medicaid, a program that has been criticised for its lack of attention to stillbirths and infant deaths, as well as its failure to offer coordinated medical services, deliver urgently needed health care information to patients, or ensure the adoption of new life-saving technologies.
Medi-Mom seeks to rectify these issues. It would operate similarly to Medicare Advantage plans, providing coverage to seniors through private insurance, but would be jointly funded by Medicare and Medicaid. This would reduce state program costs and expand low-income patients' eligibility to include at-risk mothers and infants.
One of the key features of Medi-Mom is its focus on accountability. Providers would be held accountable for outcomes, promoting modern technology to lower costs and improve quality. The use of remote monitoring and telehealth technology for postpartum care, for example, can help avoid costly rehospitalizations.
Moreover, Medi-Mom would encourage providers to collaborate with various supporting agencies like the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Care coordinators could be covered as a core service, ensuring that new moms on Medicaid get help to access medical, social, public health, education, and other services, which research shows reduces infant deaths.
Disproportionately low reimbursement rates for obstetrics create a financial strain for providers whose patient caseload is primarily covered by Medicaid. Medi-Mom addresses this issue by offering fairer reimbursement rates for remote monitoring, telehealth, and other modern technologies in obstetrics, which are currently low compared to other conditions and vary by state.
The benefits of Medi-Mom extend beyond financial considerations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PACE providers, a model for Medi-Mom, moved quickly to educate patients, adopt telehealth, and coordinate with services such as meal and medication delivery, resulting in a lower infection rate among participants compared to comparable nursing home populations.
While the exact organization and the plan name for Medi-Mom are not identified in the provided information, it is clear that this proposed program has the potential to significantly improve maternal and child health in the United States. By focusing on pregnancy and infant outcomes based on actionable, reliable, representative data, and by promoting the use of modern technology, Medi-Mom could save lives and provide a brighter future for mothers and infants in need.
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