On Dec. 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the next phase of the Maternal and Infant Health Initiative (MIHI) to support state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agency efforts to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
Six years into the program, CMS identified new issue areas the MIHI will focus on for the remaining five years of the program, including postpartum care visits, well-child visits, and decreasing rates of cesarean section births in low-risk pregnancies. The new focus areas were developed by an expert work group tasked with improving performance and quality in health care for mothers and children. The work group includes physicians, hospital officials, state Medicaid agency officials, federal partners, and other providers. The work group developed a set of recommendations and a full report on next steps for the MIHI.
This next phase of the MIHI offers new webinars and tools designed to help states improve access to and quality of care for women and infants. In addition, the MIHI provides technical assistance and support to state Medicaid and CHIP agencies and their partners as they focus on the new focus areas.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
