System changes improve prenatal care for Medicaid beneficiaries

Credit: Oregon State University
Oregon’s 2012 shift to an incentivized, accountable-care system for Medicaid beneficiaries led to positive changes for expectant mothers and their babies, research at Oregon State University shows.
The research found Oregon’s implementation of “coordinated care organizations” resulted in more expectant moms starting prenatal care on time. It also showed a small narrowing of the gap in prenatal care quality between Medicaid beneficiaries and those with private insurance.
Late-starting or inadequate prenatal care is connected to a number of adverse outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, stillbirth and infant death.
“Improving women’s access to adequate prenatal care—typically defined as initiating prenatal care within the first trimester of pregnancy and adhering to recommended prenatal care visits—can facilitate the identification and subsequent management of high-risk pregnancies,” said Ifeoma Muoto, who was a doctoral student working with Associate Professor Jeff Luck in OSU’s College of Public Health and …
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