Maternal and Infant Support

As Ohio’s largest payer of births, one of the goals of the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) is to reduce and eliminate racial disparities in maternal and infant outcomes and to reduce infant mortality. To that end, ODM is implementing a Maternal and Infant Support Program that will focus on providing services and strategies that are designed to advance these goals. Today, Ohio ranks near the bottom of the nation for its rate of infant mortality. Our state also faces significant racial disparities in neonatal outcomes, as supported by the most recent Ohio Department of Health statistics on maternal and infant births. ODM values health equity and is determined to address and eliminate health disparities. To successfully work towards this goal, ODM is committed to ensuring high-quality, person-centered care is delivered to our moms and babies to improve outcomes and reduce disparities.

To fill maternity and infant care gaps and to better meet the needs of families at risk for poor birth outcomes, ODM plans to take a population health, holistic, person-centered, and culturally competent approach to develop the Maternal and Infant Support program. Through the Maternal and Infant Support Program, Ohio Medicaid will incentivize perinatal and infant care that incorporates clinical interventions with evidence-based and evidence-informed community-based services, creating a space for improved cultural competencies and individually-configured services. Our goals will be to improve maternal and infant outcomes and patient experiences while addressing implicit bias. Personalized care will give families the clinical and community supports they need to improve outcomes, while helping them build a longitudinal trusting relationship with the health care system