Human abilities have always remained as expansive as they could possibly get, but at the same time, nothing they offer is more important than what enables us to grow on a consistent basis. This pledge to become progressively better, no matter the situation, has brought the world some huge milestones, with technology emerging as quite a major member of the group. The reason why we hold technology in such a high regard is, by and large, predicated upon its skill-set, which guided us towards a reality that nobody could have ever imagined otherwise. Nevertheless, if we look beyond the surface for one hot second, it will become abundantly clear how the whole runner was also very much inspired from the way we applied those skills across a real world environment. The latter component, in fact, did a lot to give the creation a spectrum-wide presence, and as a result, initiated a full-blown tech revolution. Of course, the next thing this revolution did was to scale up the human experience through some outright unique avenues, but even after achieving a feat so notable, technology will somehow continue to bring forth the right goods. The same has turned more and more evident in recent times, and assuming one new healthcare-themed development shakes out just like we envision, it will only put that trend on a higher pedestal moving forward.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has officially announced the launch of a brand-new care model, which is designed to help state Medicaid agencies improve maternal health outcomes. Named as Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH), the model will “support participating state Medicaid agencies (SMAs) in developing and implementing a whole-person approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care for women with Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage.” Headlining this objective is a pledge to specifically bring down low-risk cesarean sections and maternal morbidity rates. Expected to run for a period of 10 years and hand-out every participating Medicaid agency a sum worth $17 million during that phase, TMaH will work strive to achieve, more than anything else, three foundational goals i.e. improve access to care, scale up the quality of that, and as we referred to, introduce a whole-person brand of approach within the given area. Talk about the whole value proposition on a slightly deeper level, the idea with its first foundational goal is to empower eligible state Medicaid agencies in regards to increasing the wider access to doulas, midwives and perinatal community health workers. This is an important detail because, according to US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), these maternal health players have historically shown to reduce cesarean sections, shorten labor time, and cut back rates documenting postpartum depression. Next up, there is a prospect of enhancing the very quality that is attached to maternal care. Such a feature will be largely achieved by getting state Medicaid agencies to work alongside hospitals and health systems. You see, a partnership like the one we have in focus should help the stated healthcare providers big time when it comes to achieving CMS’ “Birthing-Friendly” designation. In case you weren’t quite aware, this Birthing-Friendly designation is only bestowed upon hospitals that have proven to provide high-quality maternity care.
“We have heard loud and clear that many women do not feel listened to or supported during their birth experience, and the current rate of maternal morbidity and mortality is deeply concerning,” said Liz Fowler, Deputy Administrator and Innovation Center Director at US Centre for Medicaid & Medicare Services. “This model aims to improve health outcomes for mothers and their newborns, and support a system that makes mothers feel empowered, safe, and healthy throughout their pregnancy and postpartum.”
Rounding up the highlights is, of course, HSS’ bid to implement a whole-person approach towards expecting mothers, as well as the ones who have already given birth. The said approach is going to involve delivering a “unique birth plan” at the disposal of all mothers. This plan, in turn, will be informed through inputs of the mother herself so to ensure that she is able to duly fulfill her distinct personal needs. Not just that, during the first prenatal visit, every expecting mother will be screened to learn whether she requires any support for mental health, substance use disorder, or social needs. Complimenting the same is how state Medicaid agencies will also use remote monitoring tools to look out for signs of hypertension and diabetes.
Markedly enough, HHS’ decision to introduce the new TMaH model comes in the midst of rising maternal mortality in the US. To put it into context, going by the data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1,205 women died of maternal causes in 2021 alone, showing a serious uptick from 861 who died in 2020 and 754 in 2019.
“CMS is taking a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to achieve our goal of making tangible improvements in maternal health and birth outcomes,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator of U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “The Transforming Maternal Health Model furthers our commitment to improve the experience for all pregnant women across the country, regardless of their background and ethnicity.”
