Investing in our Moms: Three Ways State Medicaid Programs Can Improve Maternal Health

The United States is in the midst of a maternal health crisis. Women are dying at rates the U.S. has not experienced since the 1960s. Maternal mortality rates increased by nearly 38% year-over-year from 2020 to 2021 and nearly doubled from 2018 to 2021. But it does not have to be this way. States have a number of policy options to combat the crisis, and Medicaid in particular should play a central role.

This report discusses how states can adopt and expand three powerful maternal health interventions to reverse recent trends: doula care, midwifery services, and group prenatal care.