Massachusetts Medicaid ACOs’ Initiatives Improve Maternal Health

A new study published in The Milbank Quarterly, explores how Massachusetts’ Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) implemented maternal health initiatives across multiple waiver periods to improve care quality and equity. By interviewing leaders, clinicians, and care coordinators across 6 Medicaid ACOs regarding initiatives introduced between 2018 and 2024, researchers found that instituting organizational maternal health metrics driven by contractual mandates, alongside providing necessary infrastructure and resources, successfully prompted ACOs to build targeted programs and track patient engagement to advance maternal health care quality.