Does Medicaid managed care impact obstetrical care and birth outcomes?

New Rochelle, NY, December 20, 2019–A new study shows that among a set of disadvantaged women, Medicaid managed care reduces the women’s access to high-quality hospital services during pregnancy and delivery and was associated with worse birth outcomes, worse prenatal care, and a higher risk of inappropriate gestational weight gain. The specific results and their implications are reported in a study published in Journal of Women’s Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article on the Journal of Women’s Health website through January 20, 2020.

Ji Yan, PhD, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, was the author of the article entitled “The Impact of Medicaid Managed Care on Obstetrical Care and Birth Outcomes: A Case Study.” Dr. Yan based his findings on a dataset of disadvantaged women who had singleton births over a 10-year period, resulting in more than 78,300 mother-infant observations. The Medicaid managed care program under which these women received health care achieved cost savings by reducing the use of some high-tech obstetrical services and limiting access to high-quality hospital services. There was a price to pay, however, in maternal health care utilization and infant well-being.

Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women’s Health and Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Richmond, VA, states: “This study emphasizes the need to be cautious in designing and implementing lower cost managed care programs for low-income obstetrical patients, as it demonstrates the possible negative outcomes for both mothers and their infants.”

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Journal of Women’s Health published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. Led by Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Richmond, VA, the Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women’s healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women’s Health website. Journal of Women’s Health is the official journal of the Society for Women’s Health Research.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including LGBT Health, Transgender Health, Population Health Management, and Breastfeeding Medicine. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 90 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.