Medicaid covers more than 16 million birthing individuals of reproductive age and approximately 41 percent of all U.S. births. Additionally, Medicaid covers between 58 percent and 66 percent of births for individuals who are non-Hispanic Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and Hispanic.

The perinatal health policy landscape is undergoing significant change in response to the country’s escalating maternal mortality rate and the need to improve maternal care delivery. States are exploring and implementing policies that affect postpartum care, midwives, doulas, and freestanding birth centers. Individual policies can support evidence-based practices, but such policies are not a checklist for advancing birth and perinatal health equity.

This Commonwealth Fund blog post and set of updated policy maps — developed in partnership by the Institute for Medicaid Innovation and the Center for Health Care Strategies — explore state perinatal policies across the country, organized into three categories: coverage and benefits; care delivery transformation; and data and oversight. The blog post highlights recent innovations and persistent policy gaps based on the updated policy analysis.