Innovation needed to improve maternal health outcomes in AR; it’s Black Maternal Health Week

Thursday kicked off Black Maternal Health Week, an annual campaign founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. (BMMA) during Minority Health Month to “amplify the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of Black Mamas and birthing people.” The national observance, which runs April 11-17, highlights the need to strengthen the rights, respect, and resources to help Black mothers thrive before, during, and after pregnancy.

Arkansas is the riskiest state in the U.S. in which to have a baby, and it is even riskier for Black mothers. According to the 2023 Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee Legislative Report, Black women in Arkansas were more than twice as likely to experience a pregnancy-associated death as their White counterparts. Earlier this year, ACHI Policy Analyst Elizabeth (Izzy) Montgomery wrote about the findings in that report on our blog, and she discussed specific recommendations and opportunities to make Arkansas a safer place to have a child.

Maternal Health

Arkansas needs to make considerable investments in interventions all along the birthing journey to improve maternal health outcomes in the state, ACHI Health Policy Director Craig Wilson writes in his latest column for Talk Business & Politics . Arkansas moms face many risk factors, he continues, citing data visualized in our 100 Arkansas Moms series, which shows, among other things, that in 2021 only 54 out of 100 mothers had intended pregnancies. Related resources can be found on our Maternal and Infant Health topic page.

Medicaid Expansion

As Medicaid expansion proposals move through the Mississippi Legislature, some Mississippians have pointed to Arkansas’s unique form of Medicaid expansion as a possible model to emulate. The nonprofit news organization Mississippi Today invited ACHI President and CEO Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH to explain how Arkansas’s program, which has been providing coverage to low-income Arkansans for over a decade, has worked.

A Closer Look

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule last month to streamline the application and renewal processes for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. ACHI Policy Analyst Elizabeth (Izzy) Montgomery takes a closer look at the rule on our blog, including how it will impact Arkansas — which had over 750,000 Medicaid enrollees and over 38,000 CHIP enrollees with comprehensive coverage as of November.

To learn more about Arkansas Medicaid during Medicaid Awareness Month, visit our online topic page.

From Our Blog

Under a new federal rule finalized this month, dental benefits could soon be available for adults who purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace, including Arkansans enrolled in the state’s Medicaid expansion program. The rule also seeks to enhance marketplace coverage by establishing network adequacy standards and adjusting enrollment periods. ACHI Senior Policy Analyst Jennifer Wessel has the details on our blog.

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Dr. Joe Thompson, ACHI president and CEO