HJBR May/Jun 2026

36 MAY / JUN 2026 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE MEDICAID COLUMN MEDICAID LOUISIANA has long faced serious chal- lenges in maternal health outcomes. Recent reports continue to show high maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity rates, with the greatest burden falling on some of our most vulnerable neighbors, particularly people living in ru- ral communities. Social drivers of health like poverty, lim- ited educational opportunity, food insecu- rity, and unstable housing canmake it even harder to support healthy pregnancies and healthy starts for babies. Yet even with these headwinds, Loui- siana’s Medicaid program — through its managed care health plans — has helped strengthen how pregnant people and new mothers access care and support. By com- bining policy innovation, on-the-ground partnerships, clear accountability, and targeted quality measures, Medicaid man- aged care in Louisiana helps build a more coordinated and responsive maternal care system. Because Medicaid covers about two-thirds of all births in Louisiana, the scale of the work is significant. Health-Supporting Resources Beyond the Doctor’s Office One of the most visible ways Medicaid health plans support maternal and infant health in Louisiana is by expanding and enhancing the range of resources available to their members. Beyond prenatal visits and delivery, most Medicaid health plans offer additional supports that can help address risk factors and social drivers of health. Some of those supports include: • Safe-sleep cribs to help prevent in- fant deaths. Sudden unexpected in- fant death (SUID) is a leading cause of infant mortality with 80% of such deaths associated with unsafe sleep practices. Over the last five years, Louisiana’s infant mortality rate de- creased 10%, while the national aver- age increased slightly. • Medically tailored meal delivery to support members managing condi- tions and risks strongly influenced by nutrition, like gestational diabetes, pre-term birth, and low birth weight. • Home-visiting community health workers to help first-time moms-to- be navigate pregnancy and newborn needs, stay connected to care, and ac- cess support resources. MedicaidManagedCare andtheQuietTransformation ofMaternal Care inLouisiana