HHS and CMS will be working to encourage States to expand Medicaid network coverage for maternal health services beyond OB including midwives, birth centers, doula, lactation, MFM. However, what is equally important to access but not highlighted here is the disparities in Medicaid reimbursement by State for any type of care including routine OB care. We know there are a variety of issues preventing access to high-quality care for Medicaid members. In working with rural Medicaid plans, Wildflower has identified those issues to include: -- Medicaid Reimbursement Rates -- Maternity Care Deserts #maternity #maternalhealth #womenshealth #valuebasedcare #valuebasedmaternitycare #maternitydeserts #healthcareaccess #sdoh #Medicaid #rural #digitalhealth
It's great that HHS and CMS will be working to encourage States to expand Medicaid network coverage for maternal health services beyond OB including midwives, birth centers, doula, lactation, MFM. As you can see in the HHS document embedded in this article, there's currently a patchwork of coverage for these important specialties by State. However, what is equally important to access but not highlighted here is the disparities in Medicaid reimbursement by State for any type of care including routine OB care. In many States, private OB practices may not even accept Medicaid due to low reimbursement, leaving care for Medicaid births to FQHCs and nonprofit health systems. While having women's health providers and ancillary care in network is important, it doesn't matter if the reimbursement is so low that providers can't or won't accept Medicaid. I understand the pressure on State budgets and Medicaid, but access to preventive maternal health does pay for itself by lowering high-cost complications for both mother and baby.