The 2012 Maternal and Child Health (MCH) update presents data gathered by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices through a survey of states.
The 2012 Maternal and Child Health (MCH) update presents data gathered by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices through a survey of states. While the 2011 survey update focused on implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for children, as well as an increased emphasis on collecting data and measuring the value of MCH programs. Also, there is a focus on the challenge states face in improving birth outcomes. Medicaid and CHIP are major sources of insurance coverage for millions of Americans. As of 2012, Medicaid and CHIP combined cover more than half of low-income children and more than one-third of all children.
These programs have helped to provide access to much needed preventive and primary care services and have reduced the number of uninsured children. The ACA includes provisions to assist in further expanding and strengthening Medicaid and CHIP coverage such as implementing new models of care delivery and payment as well as placing a greater emphasis on improving quality and reducing costs. As almost half of all births nationwide are covered by Medicaid, many states have focused their efforts on improving birth outcomes by coordinating Medicaid and CHIP programs with MCH initiatives.
This trend was demonstrated in the 2012 survey results, which showed that on average, 46 percent of births were paid for by Medicaid. The 2012 MCH update was designed to focus on the changing MCH environment facing states. In order to have the survey focus more on states’ efforts in reducing infant mortality and improving birth outcomes, some questions were dropped from the previous survey. These questions were not as relevant and in some cases, responses could be found online. NGA received responses from 26 states.
