Embedding Equity into Perinatal Health Alternative Payment Models To Improve Maternal Health Outcomes

Key Takeaways

• There is a need to embed equity into perinatal care reform in the United States to address the rise in maternal mortality and morbidity, which disproportionately impacts pregnant people of color.
• An increasingly common alternative payment model (APM) to support perinatal care is episode-based bundle payments or “bundles.” While bundles encourage coordination of obstetric services during pregnancy, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period, they have not been designed to address the needs of the whole person, including behavioral health and social drivers of health, nor encourage coordination across the care continuum (such as before and after pregnancy).
• Linking perinatal bundles with population-based models (like accountable care organizations) can help address the needs of the whole person and improve longitudinal health outcomes for birthing people.