Slide 1

The Affordable Care Act & Birth Centers Jill Alliman, DNP, CNM Legislative Committee Chair American Association of Birth Centers Slide 2 A brief history of birth centers in the US 1975- Maternity Center Association in NYC 1981-Cooperative Birth Center Network (14 centers) 1982 APHA published Guidelines for Regulating and Licensing Birth Centers 1983-Organization became NACC 1989-National Birth Center study published in NEJM 2005-NACC became AABC 2010-Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act passed 2014- 270 birth centers Slide 3 What is the status of birth center birth in the US? 270 known birth centers in US 15,577 births in 2012 0.3% of all US births 42% increase in past 5 years (MacDorman et. al, 2014) Slide 4 All OOH births in 2012 in US 53,635 births / 3,952,841 1.36% of all US births 35,184 at home and 15,577 in birth centers Up from 1.26% in 2011 Most increase among non-Hispanic white women-rate of 2.05% of all births (MacDorman, 2014) Slide 5 Birth Center Midwifery Providers 61% CPMs or LMs 52% CNMs (AABC Medicaid Survey of Birth Centers 2009) Slide 6 Birth center outcomes of care Low cesarean rates & improved outcomes Cost savings Increased client satisfaction (Rooks, 1989;Stapleton, 2013) Slide 7 US spends more -- but our mothers and babies have higher risk of dying US is 46 th in maternal mortality (2 X higher than 31 other nations) US is 27th in infant mortality (6.1 deaths per 1000 live births)(WHO, 2012) Huge racial disparities make some at much higher risk Medicaid pays for 48% of US births Slide 8 Triple Aim Innovative approaches should meet the Triple Aim of CMS Better Care Better Health Lower Costs Birth Center Care meets the Triple Aim and is a model for improving maternity care. Slide 9 Birth Centers by State Slide 10 States where CPMs are legally authorized to practice Map courtesy of The Big Push for Midwives pushformidwives.org Slide 11 82% of States Have Regulations for Licensing Birth Centers Slide 12 AABC definition of Birth Center A home-like setting where care providers, usually midwives, provide family-centered care to healthy pregnant women. Slide 13 AABC definition of Birth Center Most are separate from hospitals A few are inside hospitals and must meet standards for independence and be separate from L & D unit AABC definition of Birth Center Slide 14 Definition of Birth Center in Federal Law USC 1396(l)(3) (A) The term freestanding birth center services means services furnished to an individual at a freestanding birth center (as defined in subparagraph (B)) at such center. (B) The term freestanding birth center means a health facility (i) that is not a hospital; (ii) where childbirth is planned to occur away from the pregnant womans residence; (iii) that is licensed or otherwise approved by the State Slide 15 Definition of a birth center, cont. (iii) continued To provide prenatal, labor and delivery or postpartum care and other ambulatory services that are included in the plan; and (iv) that complies with such other requirements relating to the health and safety of individuals furnished services by the facility as the State shall establish. [42 U.S.C. 1396(l)(3) (A), (B), & ( C)] Slide 16 Birth Center Medicaid Reimbursement Act Introduced by Sen Boxer (R co-sponsor Sen. Corker) AABC version did include both the facility and all licensed birth attendants CBO cost estimatewould save Medicaid $$$$ Amended by Sen Cantwell to add more language about types of birth attendants Added to ACA Bill Passed in 2010 as Section 2301 of ACA Slide 17 Original language of Bill-Attendant The term licensed birth attendant means an individual who is licensed registered by the State involved to provide health care at childbirth and who provides such care within the scope of practice under which the individual is legally authorized to perform such care under State law (or the State regulatory mechanism provided by State law), regardless of whether the individual is under the supervision of, or associated with, a physician or other health care provider. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed as changing State law requirements applicable to a licensed birth attendant.". Slide 18 Mandated Services under Medicaid Section 1905 of SSA lists services that Medicaid (Medical Assistance) must cover The term medical assistance means payment of part or all of the cost of the following care and services or the care and services themselves, or both Freestanding Birth Centers added as paragraph 28 to the list of mandated covered services as part of the cross referencing of this bill Slide 19 Harkin Amendment to the ACA Applies to commercial/private insurance plans Provider non-discriminationstates that plans cannot discriminate against non-physician providers Not any willing provider Cannot discriminate against a whole class of providers (e.g. birth centers) Slide 20 Implementation Steps States must submit a State Plan Amendment (SPA) stating they will cover birth centers and their birth attendants--at least 26 states have completed this step All the states that license or recognize birth centers are mandated to pay for the facility services and the professional service fees for midwives who attend births in those birth centers AABC positionCMS needs to issue Rules and Regulations so states will comply correctly Rules needs to state that Medicaid MCOs must comply with Medicaid mandate Slide 21 Reimbursement levels and MCOsthe next hurdles for birth center access Floridaimplementation of facility services payment very slow. FABCs worked to increase budget for the line item that covers birth centers. TXMedicaid reimbursement too low for most centers to accept Medicaid Mediciad Managed Care Organizations wont contract with birth centers in some placesneed CMS Rules Slide 22 Bottom Line... With the ACA If you are a licensed provider, working in a licensed or otherwise recognized by the state birth center: Medicaid is mandated to pay your facility service fees and professional services of the birth attendant Commercial plans dont have to contract with every birth center, but should offer access to consumers for birth centers in their coverage area Slide 23 AABC Actions Submitted comments to FTC on barriers to practice for freestanding birth centers, and for the providers who practice in them Submitted comments to CMS/IRS/Department of Labor on the need to properly enforce the Harkin Amendment Continue to pressure CMS to issue Rules and Regulations so the Medicaid reimbursement mandate will be appropriately implemented by all states. Slide 24 How Can You Get Involved? If you are not receiving Medicaid reimbursement for birth center facility and birth attendant fees, then contact us: jillalliman@birthcenters.org Fennell.k.s@gmail.com Or call the AABC office at: 215-234-8068 info@birthcenters.org Slide 25 References MacDorman, MF, Mathews, TJ, & DeClerq, E. (2014) Trends in out-of-hospital births in the United States, 1990-2012, NCHS Data Brief No 144, Hyattsville, MD: National center for Health Statistics. Rooks, J. P., Weatherby, N. L., Ernst, E. K. M., Stapleton, S., Rosen, D., & Rosenfield, A. (1989). Outcomes of care in birth centers. The national birth center study. New England Journal of Medicine, 321(26), 1804-1811. Stapleton, S., Osborne, C., & Illuzzi, J. (2013). Outcomes of care in birth centers: Demonstration of a durable model. Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health, 58(1), 3-14. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12003/full