The state of New Jersey has taken a significant step to improve maternal health and birth outcomes, in large part due to the Burke Foundation’s support of CenteringPregnancy, an evidence-based group prenatal care program that improves health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
CenteringPregnancy is a nationally recognized model of group prenatal care shown to improve a wide range of birth outcomes including lowering risk of preterm births, reducing low birth weights, and increasing breastfeeding rates. Women of color enrolled in CenteringPregnancy experience lower risk of preterm birth than those in traditional care.
Bill S-3405/A-5021 passed in August of 2019. The bill expands the state’s Medicaid program to include coverage for up to 10 prenatal care visits per pregnancy. It also adds CenteringPregnancy to the list of services covered under New Jersey’s expanded Medicaid program, positioning the state as the first to allow Federally Qualified Health Centers and community health centers accredited by the Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI), as well as licensed sites working towards accreditation, to bill Medicaid for group prenatal care.
The New Jersey Department of Health collaborated with the Burke Foundation, the Nicholson Foundation, and the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation to launch the ‘Healthy Women, Healthy Families’ initiative. The program aims to improve pregnancy outcomes for high-risk populations, address health disparities, and reduce Black infant mortality. The bill passed shortly after public and private funders in New Jersey, among them the Burke Foundation, announced a joint effort through the initiative to invest in the implementation of CenteringPregnancy and CenteringParenting across five community health centers in the state
“The results of group prenatal care are exceptional, from nearly eliminating the racial disparities in preterm births to reducing costs in an increasingly expensive system,” said New Jersey Senator Joe Vitale. “With over 40% of births in New Jersey being covered by Medicaid, this legislation will expand access to life-changing care for thousands of women in the state.”
The CenteringPregnancy care model brings patients out of the exam room and into a group setting, where they learn from their providers and from each other. Over 120 published studies and peer-reviewed articles demonstrate that this patient-centered model improves health outcomes for mothers and babies, reduces racial health disparities, and lowers overall health system costs.
“It is clear we can do better for the mothers and soon to be mothers in our state. The results of group prenatal care are exceptional, from nearly eliminating the racial disparities in preterm births to reducing costs in an increasingly expensive system.
With over 40% of births in New Jersey being covered by Medicaid, this legislation will expand access to life-changing care for thousands of women in the state. Group care is a proven and innovative improvement to traditional prenatal care and should be accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable in our society.”
– Senator Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex)
“New Jersey continues to lead in expanding access to CenteringPregnancy as an aggressive strategy to improve maternal and infant health. The state stands to make significant gains with this comprehensive strategy, which includes the state Department of Health, private philanthropy and now the NJ Medicaid program,”
– Angie Truesdale, CEO of Centering Healthcare Institute