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A new study details how Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations can improve maternal healthcare quality and equity in the US by aligning performance mandates with innovative care coordination and social needs support among patients before, during, and after pregnancy.
As the largest insurance program for maternity care, Medicaid is uniquely positioned to shape maternal health in the United States, where maternal mortality rates far outweigh those of other wealthy nations and continue to disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic populations. Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), in particular-networks of healthcare providers and systems that are incentivized to improve healthcare and patient outcomes-have an opportunity to bolster maternal healthcare quality and equity across the country.
However, there is a dearth of research on how health systems and providers implement maternal health strategies and the challenges they face as they aspire to deliver quality, continuous care for pregnant and postpartum people.