On April 13, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released more specifics via a press release regarding the proposed “Birthing-Friendly” hospital designation. The new designation helps consumers choose hospitals that have a commitment to maternal health and deliver high-quality maternity care. The requirements for the designation will be released over the next few days as part of the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule.
The release states that “Louisiana, Virginia, New Jersey, and Illinois have started offering Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for 12 months after pregnancy. CMS is also working with another 11 states and the District of Columbia to extend postpartum coverage for 12 months after pregnancy, including: California, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. As a result of these efforts, as many as 720,000 people across the United States could be guaranteed Medicaid and CHIP coverage for 12 months after pregnancy thanks to the American Rescue Plan. Medicaid covers 42 percent of all births in the nation, and this new option for states to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage marks the Biden-Harris Administration’s latest effort to address the nation’s crisis in pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity by opening the door to greater postpartum care continuity for hundreds of thousands of people.”
Further, “Initially, the publicly reported maternity care quality hospital (“Birthing-Friendly”) designation would be based on a hospital’s attestation to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program’s Maternal Morbidity Structural Measure, which CMS sees as a first step in capturing hospitals’ commitments to the quality and safety of maternity care they furnish. The reporting period began in October 2021, and data will be submitted by hospitals for the first time in May 2022. CMS will post the Maternal Morbidity Structural Measure data for October to December 2021 in fall 2022, and post initial results for the hospital designation beginning in fall 2023.”
The release explains that CMS is planning to expand the criteria for the designation that will be awarded in the future. The designation will appear on one of the agency’s websites and aims to assist consumers in picking hospitals that have a solid track record and commitment to maternal health through participation in collaboratives and best practices that advance healthcare for pregnant and postpartum parents.
Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra was quoted in the release saying that “Everyone deserves access to quality healthcare, especially as they start a family. At HHS, we are proposing the ‘Birthing-Friendly’ hospital designation and working with states to provide a full year of postpartum care to ensure all parents have the best care they need—before, during, and after a pregnancy. We will continue to deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to reduce racial disparities, including those we see in maternal health outcomes.”
