Focused effort to support mothers and their
families to drive long-term impact
BENTONVILLE, Ark., May 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Against a backdrop where the U.S. is confronting
one of the highest rates of maternal deaths among all high-resource
countries, Heartland Forward announced new research and a
corresponding action plan to offer practical solutions for
policymakers, providers, insurers, philanthropists and businesses
working to improve outcomes for mother and child.
The report, The Economic Case for Investing in Maternal
Health, focuses on Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Ohio. It includes primary interviews with
local, state and community health care professionals providing new
insights into the economic impact of poor maternal health care and
issues related to inequitable access to providers. Some of the key
findings include:
- The impact of negative maternal health outcomes on the economy
is significant. Undesirable outcomes from pregnancy cost the U.S.
$165.3 billion in additional medical
expenses and lost economic growth. For example, preterm births can
cost up to $237,668 compared to
$6,370 for a healthy full-term
baby.
- An estimated $79 billion could be
saved nationally if greater access to existing, cost-effective
services like prenatal care, mental health care and Community
Health Workers (CHWs) were made available.
- In the four states of focus in the report, births that occurred
outside a mother's county of residence cost up to $221 million in non-medical expenses, like
transportation and lost wages, cumulatively each year—reflecting
the disparity of regional health care infrastructures, availability
of specialized maternity services and distances mothers must travel
for care.
In addition to releasing the detailed report, Heartland Forward
is sharing a "Heartland Action Plan to Advance Maternal Health
Outcomes." The plan focuses on the following four areas of
impact:
- Supporting and advocating for Community Health Workers
- Expanding access to telehealth
- Addressing workforce shortages across the health care
industry
- Increasing transparency through data collection and
evaluation
The research report and Action Plan were unveiled during the
Northwest Arkansas Council's NWA Health Summit, Addressing and
Identifying Barriers within Maternal Health, which was held in
Fayetteville, Arkansas, today.
Ross DeVol, president and CEO of
Heartland Forward, was the keynote speaker and participated on a
panel with authors of the research report, Amir Forati and
Maria Rodriguez-Alcala, who are
members of the Heartland Forward team. They discussed the findings
of the research and the proposals included in the Action Plan.
"Our role at Heartland Forward is to be a resource for states
and local communities. This means improving the quality of life for
families across the 20 states we define as the heartland. We want
to help identify and support direct action to solve problems," said
DeVol. "It is imperative we find practical solutions that can
improve women's health and maternal health over the next three to
five years, as too much is at stake for the health and wellness of
new, expecting and future mothers and their children."
About Heartland Forward
Heartland Forward is a think and do tank dedicated to being a
resource for states and local communities in the middle of the
country. We do this by studying broad economic trends and building
data-driven and community-tested partnerships, programs and
policies to address the needs of the heartland to help change the
narrative about the middle of the country and accelerate economic
growth.
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SOURCE Heartland Forward