NOTE: This is a Forecasted Opportunity.

The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) anticipates funding for an initiative to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative or enhanced payment models for community-based maternal support services. Community-based maternal support services are services provided during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and after delivery by trained individuals, such as doulas and community health workers. Recipients will identify effective payment models to reduce maternal and infant health disparities with racial and ethnic minority populations. This opportunity is not issued or funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

CMS noted disparities in 2020 data for maternal health access and outcomes for Black/African American, Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations. Recent studies indicate community-based maternal support services (i.e., those provided by doulas and community health workers) are associated with improved maternal and infant health outcomes. Varying Medicaid benefits for maternal support services, structural barriers, and Medicaid reimbursement complexities inhibit access to community-based maternal support services in racial and ethnic minority communities. These factors highlight the need for innovative or enhanced payment models for community-based maternal support services to address social determinants of health; promote evidence-based health literacy; provide pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting education programs; and provide training to maternal support service workers.

Recipients will develop and implement an innovative or enhanced payment model for community-based maternal support services within a geographic area with high rates of adverse maternal health outcomes, particularly for racial and ethnic minority women. Recipients will be expected to develop public, private and community partnerships to support project implementation, including data collection and evaluation. Recipients also will assess the impact of the payment model on maternal and infant health outcomes by implementing a process and outcomes evaluation. Lastly, recipients will be expected to publish and disseminate project findings to diverse stakeholders.