New York Holds First Maternal Mental Health Hearing for Lawmakers

Maternal mental health disorders drive 23% of all deaths and are a leading complicating factor in other medical causes of maternal mortality in the United States.

Advocates, facilitated by the Postpartum Resource Center and others, brought this issue before lawmakers during the state’s first Maternal Mental Health Hearing on Monday, November 9.

Joy Burkhard, CEO of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, testified before Chairs Paulin and Simon and ranking member Sempolinski. Burkhard detailed how screening practices should shift upstream to obstetric providers.

“Good morning, Chairs Paulin and Simon, and ranking member Sempolinski. My name is Joy Burkhard.”

Untreated anxiety and depression in pregnancy increase the risk of preterm birth.

Obstetric providers anchor new screening standards

Newly introduced legislation addresses adjusting that guidance to include the range of disorders and reimbursement for prenatal screens and follow-up.

For years, the way most payers reimburse OB providers in the U.S., through one flat “bundled rate” for all care, has been a hindrance to postpartum screening. The bundle included just one postpartum visit, and payment ended at 6 weeks, creating what is termed the “postpartum care cliff.”

CMS also recently released new quality measures that rely on claims data, referred to as MVP measures, including maternal mental health screening and postpartum care.

Patients demand comprehensive postpartum support

Burkhard addressed the challenge of having to use multiple screening tools and how adaptive screening, such as the CAT-MH and PROMIS platforms that integrate with electronic health records, can simplify screening for both providers and patients.