Over the past twenty years, the United States has experienced divergent trends in birth outcomes, with some key indicators improving and others worsening. In that same time, the level of attention that the federal and state governments have focused on publicly sponsored health insurance for pregnant women has fluctuated, with major efforts to expand health insurance coverage and access to prenatal care concentrated in the early years of this period, and considerably less activity in recent years as child health insurance expansions have been in the policy spotlight.
The last two decades have also witnessed major changes within health care delivery and financing systems, with expansion in the use of managed care as well as new family planning initiatives that target low-income women of childbearing age. Given these trends, the March of Dimes asked the Urban Institute, with its partner the National Academy for State Health Policy, to assess the current “state of the art” of state Medicaid program efforts to reach out to and enroll pregnant women into coverage. The results of this assessment are summarized below.
Contents
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II. Evolving Perinatal Trends, Policies, and Environments: A Review of the Literature
III. Survey Findings: Innovative Strategies in Medicaid Outreach and Enrollment of Pregnant Women
IV. Pulling it All Together: Summaries of Five States’ Models
V. Different Approaches Toward the Same Goals: In-Depth Case Studies of Louisiana and New York
VI. Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Policy
References
Appendix 1: Survey of Medicaid Program Outreach and Enrollment of Pregnant Women
Appendix 2: Selected Survey Results/State Program Characteristics, by State, 2007
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Medicaid Outreach and Enrollment for Pregnant Women: What Is the State of the Art?
