In 2021, the General Assembly tasked the State Health Commissioner with establishing the Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures (the Task Force) for the purpose of evaluating maternal health data collection processes to guide policies in the Commonwealth to improve maternal care, quality, and outcomes for all birthing people in the Commonwealth. The Task Force is required to report on its activities by December 1 each year and conclude its work by December 1, 2023. This final report contains the recommendations from the Task Force that are due by December 1, 2023, to the General Assembly and the Governor. The Task Force convened for ten meetings in 2022 and 2023 and developed 22 recommendations for the Governor and General Assembly. Ten of the recommendations impact Medicaid. The Task Force recommendations are listed below.

Recommendations

The Task Force’s work concluded with preparing recommendations to address maternal health data collection, data capacity, data linkage, data warehousing, and data reporting throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. These recommendations seek to fill gaps in the aforementioned areas and are detailed further in the “Recommendations" section of this report.

Recommendation 1: Improve the Virginia All-Payer Claims Database (APCD)

Recommendation 2: Develop a Statewide Maternal Health Data Board

Recommendation 3: Ensure Behavioral Health Access for Pregnant and Postpartum Women by Studying and Reporting on Certain Metrics by 2024 (detailed metrics listed in the “Recommendations" section)

Recommendation 4: Enhance Maternal Mental Health Data

Recommendation 5: Expand Maternal Health Data Reporting

Recommendation 6: Continue to Fund Yearly Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative (VNPC) Report

Recommendation 7: Incorporate Evidence Based Home Visiting Program into the Model of Care

Recommendation 8: Expand Benefit Coverage to Include Presumptive Eligibility for Ambulatory Prenatal Care

Recommendation 9: Authorize Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to Bill for Multiple Encounters

Recommendation 10: Authorize Medicaid to Cover and Reimburse FQHCs for Services Delivered by Doulas, Marriage & Family Therapists, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Community Health Workers (CHWs)

Recommendation 11: Expand Preventive Dental Services for Expectant Mothers

Recommendation 12: Implement Multi-Year Continuous Eligibility for Children up to Five Years of Age Task Force on Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures, 2023

Recommendation 13: Expand Medicaid Facility Reimbursement to Birthing Centers

Recommendation 14: Expand Access and Utilization of State-Certified Doula Services

Recommendation 15: Mandate 12 Months of Postpartum Coverage for Commercial Insurance Plans

Recommendation 16: Increase Sustained Funding for CHWs

Recommendation 17: Identify Reimbursements to Incentivize Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Screenings

Recommendation 18: Improve Collection of SDoH Data

Recommendation 19: Incentivize Collection of Z Codes

Recommendation 20: Improve Screening for Intimate Partner Violence

Recommendation 21: Improve Existing Data Surveillance Systems to Understand Experiences up to One Year Postpartum

Recommendation 22: Develop a Fetal Infant Mortality Review Team