This presentation reviews two descriptive chapters for MACPAC’s June report to Congress related to maternal health. The first chapter provides an overview of Medicaid’s role in maternity care, as well as descriptions of state-led and federal initiatives to improve access to care and the quality of services for pregnant women covered by Medicaid. It concludes with a discussion of future areas of work for the Commission.
The second chapter focuses on pregnant women with substance use disorder (SUD) and infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). This chapter describes the prevalence of SUD among pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries and the rates at which they seek treatment. The chapter also describes the incidence of NAS among Medicaid-covered infants as well as emerging models of care. The chapter reviews the various Medicaid authorities that can be used to provide services to pregnant women with an SUD and infants with NAS, and the roles of other public systems and agencies.