HMA Community Strategies (HMACS) Senior Associate Diana Rodin and HMA Managing Principal Sharon Silow-Carroll have authored an article drawing on data from the recently completed five-year evaluation of the Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns II Initiative to identify promising approaches to support women in Medicaid to attend postpartum visits.
Postpartum care is important for promoting maternal and infant health and well-being. Nationally, less than 60 percent of Medicaid-enrolled women attend their postpartum visits. Strong Start tested three enhanced models of prenatal care intended to improve birth outcomes among Medicaid beneficiaries: birth center midwifery care, a maternity care medical home and group prenatal care. The program enrolled 45,599 women across the country and identified various approaches to increase engagement in postpartum care.
These approaches include provider and/or care coordinator continuity across prenatal, delivery, and postpartum visits; efforts to address information gaps and link women to appropriate resources; enhancing services to meet needs such as treatment for depression; addressing barriers related to transportation and childcare; and aligning incentives to encourage prioritization of postpartum care among patients and providers.
The article was supported by a team from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at CMS and the Urban Institute and appears in the Journal of Women’s Health.