News: CMS program seeks to address maternity deserts
In an attempt to respond to the nationwide crisis of maternity deserts, federal officials will launch a pilot program entitled “Transforming Maternal Health” (TMaH) in January of 2025, according to ICD-10monitor.
March of Dimes, a non-profit organization dedicated to maternal care, has reported that more than 5.6 million United States women live in counties with no or limited access to maternity care services:
“More than one third (36%) of U.S. counties [since 2018] are considered maternity care deserts, which are defined as counties without a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care and without any obstetric providers.”
The TMaH program is intended to mitigate and, ideally, rectify this issue.
According to the CMS, there are three main pillars to the program:
- Increasing access to care, infrastructure, and workforce capacity, such as increased access to midwives, doulas, and perinatal community health workers
- Quality improvement and safety by implementing initiatives and protocols at participating agencies
- Whole-person care delivery that allows for individualized care assessment and support
The program applies to women enrolled in Medicaid and will be run through participating state Medicaid agencies. A notice of funding will be released in spring 2024 and the program will offer $17 million over a 10-year period.
Editor’s note: To read the ICD-10monitor coverage, click here. To read the March of Dimes report, click here. To read ACDIS’ summary of the report, click here. To read CMS’ outline of TMaH, click here.