| Maternal Health Summer Webinar Series and Affinity Group Launch Announcement The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Maternal and Infant Health Initiative is pleased to announce the launch of a new webinar series followed by two affinity groups focused on two of the main drivers of poor maternal health outcomes, Addressing Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use and Improving Maternal Hypertension Control. Maternal mental illness is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S.[i] Substance use during pregnancy, such as alcohol, tobacco, opioids and marijuana, places the birthing person and the fetus at risk.[ii] Uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension), both common and preventable, contributes to adverse outcomes and death before, during, and after pregnancy and decades later.[iii] Black, Hispanic/Latina(x) and American Indian/ Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities are disproportionately impacted; maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity rates are two to three times higher among Black and AI/AN individuals compared to white individuals.[iv] As the largest public payer of births nationwide,[v] Medicaid and CHIP programs have a significant opportunity and role in enhancing systems of care to improve maternal health, reduce preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and support equitable outcomes for all. The webinar series will run through the summer of 2024 and will focus on the challenges pregnant and postpartum people face addressing their mental health, substance use, and hypertension management. Participants will hear from state agencies, federal partners, and subject matter experts about unique Medicaid and CHIP program solutions to improve maternal health outcomes. CMS invites all interested staff from state Medicaid and CHIP agencies, along with their hospital and obstetrical providers, Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans, public health agencies, and other quality improvement partners, to take part in the summer 2024 maternal health webinar series. To register for one or more of the webinars, click here. Beginning in Fall 2024, CMS will convene two affinity groups: Addressing Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Improving Maternal Hypertension and Cardiovascular Health State teams, led by Medicaid or CHIP program staff, may join one or both action-oriented affinity groups to address maternal health in their state. Affinity group participants learn more through workshops, receive one-on-one quality improvement coaching, and work alongside peers focused on improvement projects in their states. Maternal Health Summer 2024 Webinar Series Webinar #1: Promoting Maternal Health Improvement and Equity Through Collaboration (May 14, 2024, 2:00 pm ET) To register for this webinar, click [here]. Webinar #2: Maternal Mental Health Screening, Treatment, and Improvement Strategies (Date: June 4, 2024, 2:00 pm ET)To register for this webinar, click [here]. Webinar #3: Decreasing Fragmentation in Maternal Substance Use Disorder Screening and Treatment (Date: June 25, 2024, 2:00 pm ET)To register for this webinar, click [here]. Webinar #4: Addressing Hypertension Before, During and After Pregnancy (Date: July 16, 2024, 2:00 pm ET) To register for this webinar, click [here]. Webinar #5: Medicaid and CHIP Program Collaboration with Hospitals on AIM Bundles (Date: August 20, 2024, 2:00 pm ET) To register for this webinar, click [here]. Informational Webinar: Overview of the Addressing Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use and Improving Maternal Hypertension Control Affinity Groups and the Expression-of-Interest Process(Date: August 06, 2024) To register for this webinar, click [here]. Questions Please submit your questions to the QI technical assistance mailbox at MedicaidCHIPQI@cms.hhs.gov. [i] JAMA Psychiatry. Published online February 21, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.5648. Accessed February 22, 2024. [ii] NIDA. "Substance Use While Pregnant and Breastfeeding." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 18 Jan. 2024, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/substance-use-in-women/substance-use-while-pregnant-breastfeeding. Accessed February 22, 2024. [iii] Ford ND, Cox S, Ko JY, et al. Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy and Mortality at Delivery Hospitalization United States, 20172019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:585591. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7117a1 [iv] CDC. Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, January 2, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html. Accessed February 22, 2024. [v] Valenzuela CP, Osterman MJK. Characteristics of mothers by source of payment for the delivery: United States, 2021. NCHS Data Brief, no 468. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2023. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:127266 | 