The Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) announced Maine is one of 15 states to participate in the Transforming Maternal Health model; implementation to take place over the next ten years
AUGUSTA-- The Maine Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of MaineCare Services has been selected as one of 15 state Medicaid programs to participate in the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model, an initiative from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes for people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
CMS has awarded DHHS a nearly $17 million grant, to be administered over 10 years, that will be used to enhance the full range of Maine's maternal health care services through increased access and quality of supports, improved data infrastructure, and advancing equity-focused initiatives.
The TMaH Model award will help MaineCare address maternal health across the state, by focusing on improving access to care, advancing patient safety, and fostering whole-person care delivery. MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program, will lead the effort in collaboration with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) and a wide range of community partners.
"Creating a system of care where every pregnant person has timely access to the perinatal care and support they need, regardless of their circumstances or where they live, is fundamental to ensuring the best outcomes for pregnant people and their babies so that families can thrive," said DHHS Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes. "The Transforming Maternal Health Model allows DHHS, in partnership with CMS, to build on existing work in the state and ensure that perinatal health care in Maine sets a national example for equity, quality, and safety."
CMS's TMaH Model is a 10-year program and consists of a three-year pre-implementation phase followed by seven years of implementation. The State of Maine will receive federal funding and technical assistance to achieve key milestones including improving maternal health data infrastructure, facilitating rural regional planning networks, and supporting birthing hospitals in quality improvement initiatives across Maine.
During the first phase of this initiative, Maine DHHS will work with hospitals, health systems, maternal health providers, community organizations, pregnant people, and other partners to develop comprehensive plans for care improvement, workforce expansion, and payment reform. The State aims to implement a new value-based payment model for maternity care by 2028.
This award builds on Maine DHHS's ongoing work to improve maternal and child health outcomes. In recent years, the Department has expanded postpartum coverage to 12 months after birth. Since 2022, DHHS has supported all birthing hospitals to implement the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health evidence-based patient safety bundles, or "AIM" bundles, and advanced initiatives to address behavioral and social health needs for pregnant and postpartum individuals through programs such as the MaineCare MaineMOM program.
The TMaH funding will build on previous funding awarded to the State of Maine to continue strengthening the perinatal system of care including grants to the Maine CDC for the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Grant and the State Maternal Health Innovation (SMHI) and Data Capacity Program. In the fall of 2024, DHHS' Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace also received a two-year grant from CMS, the Expanding Access to Women's Health Grant, focused on supporting State efforts to enhance and expand coverage of, and access to, reproductive health care and maternal care.