Arkansas Health Secretary Renee Mallory (center) explains part of the maternal health improvement plan that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (second from left) authorized in an executive order on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Screenshot courtesy of Facebook livestream)
Arkansas will direct $17 million in federal grant funds to improving maternal health care outcomes, the state Department of Human Services announced Monday in a news release .
The Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model comes from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and provides funding and technical assistance to state Medicaid agencies with the goal of improving maternal health outcomes. The newest model, which launched Jan. 1, will focus specifically on aiding people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), both of which are administered by DHS.
As of Dec. 1, nearly half of the 863,117 Arkansans on Medicaid were children (414,678), according to DHS data . About half of Arkansas births are covered by Medicaid, which serves pregnant Arkansans with incomes of up to 209% of the federal poverty level, but this coverage expires two months after birth.