The AAMC published on April 23 its maternal health advocacy agenda, From Crisis to a Call to Action: The AAMC’s Recommendations to Address the Maternal Health Crisis and Advance Birthing Equity. The advocacy agenda highlights AAMC-member teaching hospitals’ roles in the maternity care delivery system and outlines the association’s recommendations to prevent maternal injury and death, address inequities, and promote the health of pregnant patients. These recommendations include:
Growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce through increased investment in Medicare-supported graduate medical education and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Title VII and Title VIII workforce development programs.
- Strengthening the maternity care delivery system by addressing the historic financial challenges facing the hospital field.
- Ensuring access to coverage and care by expanding access to Medicaid and limiting prior authorization during the perinatal period.
- Promoting whole person health by investing in innovative and holistic care delivery models, including integrated behavioral health, which involves a multidisciplinary team of medical and behavioral health providers working together to address the physical, behavioral, and social factors that influence a patient’s health and well-being.
- Fostering cross-sector partnerships to address the upstream social determinants of health, including access to housing, transportation, and nutrition.
Addressing disparities in maternal health is an ongoing area of focus for the association. The AAMC previously sponsored a maternal health convening, “Lifting Voices, Taking Action,” which provided a forum for academics, policymakers, business leaders, and individuals with lived experiences to discuss the status of maternal health in the U.S. [refer to Washington Highlights, Dec. 8, 2023].