(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) Director Maureen Corcoran today launched Comprehensive Maternal Care (CMC) – a community-based, statewide program aimed at improving the health and well-being of moms, infants, and families covered by Medicaid. CMC was announced in September of 2022 as part of Governor DeWine’s Bold Beginning: Healthy, Supported Families.
“Giving all Ohioans the best possible start at life truly begins before a child is even born and that means ensuring the child’s family has access to the resources they need,” said Governor DeWine. “Personalized access to those supports from trusted community partners and high-quality, responsive care that focuses on patients lead to better, healthier outcomes for mothers, babies, and their families.”
CMC directly aligns with Governor Mike DeWine’s commitment of ensuring the health and success of Ohio’s mothers and children. It creates a framework for providers and community partners to work together to develop person-centered, customized interventions to support women and families who’ve historically lacked ready access to high-quality responsive care before and after pregnancy.
To participate, obstetrical practices are required to measure and engage with patients and families through advisory councils or other means to hear firsthand accounts of how access to care, cultural competence, and communication methods affect patient outcomes. Practices must use patient input to improve the patient experience and reduce disparities. They also must consider and link patients to resources that address broader factors of health, such as housing, food instability, and transportation. Additional criteria for participation include:
- Using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment to quickly identify women in need of a first prenatal appointment and ensure timely access appointments and services needed.
- Engaging community supports and evaluating the mother’s and family’s experiences throughout treatment.
- Ensuring patient involvement and care continuity with their providers.
- Formally assessing practice strengths and patient needs annually to ensure resources, and best practices available are employed and achieving healthier outcomes
“Ohio Medicaid and our vision for the Next Generation of care commits to delivering a personal care experience to every Ohioan served,” said Director Corcoran. “The CMC model builds on that commitment by encouraging providers and communities to partner on building a trustworthy and comprehensive system of care for members.”
The CMC model uses an innovative payment structure, financially rewarding maternal care providers to address patient and family needs across the entire cycle of childbearing – prenatal, birth, and postnatal. Additionally, the design leverages a flexible prospective per-member-per-month value-based payments centered around the risk level of enrolled Medicaid members.
Ohio Medicaid estimates investing $5 million in CMC by the end of its first year, reaching over 14,000 pregnant and postpartum patients and enrolling 77 medical practices that are currently caring for pregnant and postpartum patients.
For providers like Toni Tipton, a Certified Nurse Midwife at Five Rivers Health Center in Dayton, participating in CMC allows her and her colleagues to focus on what they do best – delivering care – so the “patient can focus on having a healthy pregnancy, healthy outcomes and being their best selves, what I like to call ‘cultivating greatness!”
For more information about ODM’s Comprehensive Maternal Program visit: https://medicaid.ohio.gov/families-and-individuals/citizen-programs-and-initiatives/maternal-and-infant-support/maternal-and-infant-support