If the United States brought home a report card on maternal and infant health, it would need a serious parent–teacher conference. In this episode, Dr. Michael Warren, Chief Medical and Health Officer at March of Dimes breaks down the latest Report Card on birth outcomes and the headline is hard to ignore: the nation earns a D+ for preterm birth, with half of states receiving a D or F. But this isn’t just about grades. It’s about what’s driving poor outcomes and what public health leaders can actually do about it. Warren, a former state and federal public health leader, also shares how officials can use the report card as more than a headline, but as a tool to build urgency, strengthen partnerships across maternal health, chronic disease, and Medicaid, and push forward policy and funding priorities.
Long COVID Resources for Community Recovery | ASTHO
Funding & Collaboration Opportunities | ASTHO
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This is Public Health Review
MORNING EDITION for Wednesday,
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February 11th, 2026.
I'm John Sheehan with news for
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the Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials.
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Today we hear about the latest
March of Dimes report card on
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birth outcomes, and the headline
is hard to ignore.
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The nation earns AD Plus for
preterm birth Doctor Michael
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Warren, chief medical and health
officer at March of Dimes, joins
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us to explain the report, what's
driving poor outcomes, and what
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public health leaders can
actually do about it.
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The United States is not faring
very well when it comes to
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maternal and infant health
outcomes.
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Every year, March of Dimes
releases our report card.
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States are very accustomed to
getting a grade on preterm
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birth, and we continued to have
this grade of D plus for the
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nation when it comes to preterm
birth.
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When you look at how the states
fare, certainly there were some
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states that did better than
others.
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But what we saw is that half of
all states got AD or an F And,
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you know, I don't know about
your listeners, but if I brought
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home that report card, we we
would have had a corrective
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action plan.
We would have had some work to
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do.
And so I think it really is an
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important reminder of just how
much work we've got left to do
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when it comes to improving birth
outcomes in this country.
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Yeah.
And for the fourth straight
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year, that is dire.
What should?
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Public health leaders focus on
1st what is How do you How do
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you eat this elephant?
Well, I think one thing that I
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always emphasize when I'm
talking to state health
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officials is they all know these
numbers take time to move,
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particularly when we're talking
about things like preterm birth.
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One of the leading drivers that
we saw in this year's report
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card were high rates of chronic
conditions like high blood
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pressure and diabetes and
unhealthy weight.
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And it takes a while to change
those things.
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And so the the first take away
is to recognize that we're not
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going to fix this and in one
year, but that you do hope to
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see some progress in some of
those areas that lead up to
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these outcomes.
And one of the places to look
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for that is where you may be
able to make some progress on
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the the policy front.
And so looking at where there
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may be gaps between what your
state is doing and where there
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may be policy options to be able
to to improve birth outcomes.
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And do you think it's important
to make that distinction, to
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make that sort of that narrative
link between chronic disease and
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higher infant mortality?
So we absolutely know there's a
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link.
And so, for example, in women
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who have these chronic
conditions, whether it's high
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blood pressure or diabetes or
unhealthy weight, their rates of
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preterm birth are higher.
The rates of infant mortality
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are largely driven in this
country by preterm birth.
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We also know this is not just
about baby.
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When we think about maternal
health outcomes, moms who go
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into pregnancy with diabetes or
high blood pressure, unhealthy
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weight, more likely to have
worse outcomes for themselves.
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And so we know these are
important indicators.
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And these are not not new
challenges for state and
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territorial health officials.
These are perennial challenges
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and I would point out that some
of our colleagues are doing
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better than others.
And so we did see for example
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that 19 states improved their
grades when it comes to the
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report card and improved their
preterm birth rates, including
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in some states where there are
baseline high rates of chronic
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disease where folks have really
doubled down and said what can
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we do to to make improvements.
So so change is possible.
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Yeah, that's very heartening
that it's not an intractable
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problem, that things can be
done.
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Right.
And we talked a lot about
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chronic disease, but that's one
piece of the puzzle.
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The other thing that really
jumped out here relates to
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access to care.
And so a couple of statistics
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that jumped out.
One was when we look at women
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who started prenatal care early,
those percentages got worse.
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So now only about 3/4 of women
got prenatal care that started
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in the first trimester.
So the goal is that women start
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prenatal care early.
That number has continued to to
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dip down and right now we're at
about 75% of women across the
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country getting prenatal care
early.
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The other statistic that's in
the report card looks at
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adequacy of prenatal care.
So not only when did prenatal
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care start, but did women get
the recommended number of
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visits.
And what we saw is that the
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percentage women who are getting
inadequate prenatal care is also
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getting worse.
That number is creeping up.
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And so and these are
inextricably linked, right?
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So when you think about a high
proportion of women who have
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chronic diseases, like we talked
about either starting prenatal
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care late or not getting all the
prenatal care they need.
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Then you've got women who are
coming into pregnancy with a
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higher risk of bad outcomes for
themselves and their baby and
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less of a runway to be able to
identify those conditions early
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on, properly manage those so
that we get the best outcome for
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mom and baby.
So this access issue is, is one
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that we've really got to think
about how we tackle as well.
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Absolutely.
And on the policy front, could
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you prioritize other policy
initiatives that have that lead
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to better outcomes?
Well, one of the things that we
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know is vital is insurance
coverage.
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And so right now lots of folks
are talking about Medicaid.
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Medicaid particularly important
here because Medicaid covers 4
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in 10 births in the United
States.
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And so if we think about
improving birth outcomes, we
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can't have a serious
conversation about that without
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thinking about how we address
insurance access, particularly
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through Medicaid.
Many states have extended
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Medicaid coverage to 12 months
postpartum.
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That is a really good thing.
Let's take maternal health for
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starters.
We know from the good work that
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states are doing through
maternal mortality review
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committees that many pregnancy
related deaths actually happen
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in that postpartum period.
And so extending that coverage
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is really important to be able
to take good care of mom.
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But we always talk about with
infant mortality, the goal is to
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get the baby to their first
birthday.
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We also want mom to be there to
celebrate with them.
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And so that coverage over that
first year is so important.
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A smaller number of states have
actually done Medicaid
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expansion, so extending Medicaid
to non pregnant adults, for
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example.
And that becomes particularly
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important when we think about
the burden of chronic disease in
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the population.
The best prenatal care can't
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erase years or even decades of
chronic disease that has gone
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unmanaged.
And so the goal would be to make
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sure that people have insurance
throughout their life course,
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particularly throughout their
adult, so that should they
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choose to become pregnant, once
they become pregnant, they're in
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an optimal state of health or at
least chronic diseases have been
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identified and and managed so
that we're lowering the risk for
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those bad outcomes.
And that's where that Medicaid
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expansion piece becomes really
key.
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There are other policy
indicators that we report on in
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the report card, For example,
maternal mental health
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screening.
We know that maternal mental
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health conditions are a leading
cause of pregnancy related
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deaths.
And so we want to think about
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how we make sure that women are
screened particularly in that
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postpartum period and connected
to care.
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What we saw in the report card
is that 11 states have actually
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adopted policy through their
state Medicaid programs that
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require postpartum screening and
will pay for it in the context
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of a well child visit.
So mom may not go to her own
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follow up visit, but she's often
going to bring baby in for
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baby's visit.
And so if we can screen mom in
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the pediatrician or family
physician's office while baby is
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there, we really take advantage
of an important Nintendo and 11
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states have implemented that
important policy to make that
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even easier to do.
How do you think about how
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states should use the report
card?
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I mean, it's I think designed to
be sort of a a red flag, right?
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It's it's a stark indicator of
like, hey, pay attention to
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this.
How should?
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Public health officials be using
the.
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Report when they make their
cases to, you know, state
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officials.
You know, John, prior to coming
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to March of Dimes, I was in
federal service and prior to
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that I spent about a decade in
state public health down in
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Tennessee.
The last couple of years I was
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the deputy state health
commissioner and I, I have joked
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since getting here to March of
Dimes that I used to have a love
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hate relationship with the March
of Dimes report card because it
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would come out every year.
And I was in Tennessee.
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We didn't get the best grade.
And so we got a lot of heat for
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that from our governor's office,
from our legislators, from
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constituents across the state.
And yet we used that as an
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opportunity to tell the story
about the good work we were
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doing and to help under score
the urgency of the work that we
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were doing.
And so I absolutely understand
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that our state public health
colleagues across the the
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country can be frustrated by
these reports.
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And I hope at the same time they
will channel that frustration
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into a positive energy to think
about working with their
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stakeholders to see what can be
done about this.
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I, I think particularly my
background is in maternal and
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child health.
This is a fantastic opportunity
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for state health officials to be
able to lift up the great work
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that's happening in your Title 5
MCH block grant programs.
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The timing of that is really
good.
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All the states have just done
their five year needs
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assessment.
They've got a brand new five
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year action plan.
This is a real opportunity to
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say we may have these problems,
but here's what we're doing
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about it and here's how you can
join the public health
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enterprise in moving this work
forward.
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I also think, you know, there's
that saying never waste a
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perfectly good crisis.
And so if you're AD or an F
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state and there is this burning
platform, you've got around a
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particular policy item or a
programmatic agenda that you're
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trying to push.
Maybe you're trying to get
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funding in your, your governor's
budget proposal or get your
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General Assembly to, to push
forward a piece of legislation.
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This may be another tool in your
toolkit as you're as you're
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helping to to move that forward.
Yeah, if you're hearing alarm
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bells and the report inspires
strong feelings.
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Well, good.
That's right.
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That's right.
Don't.
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Don't let this go to waste.
Michael, are there any next
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steps for anyone who wants to
either see the report card or
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for for officials who want to
learn more?
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Well, first I want to thank all
the state and territorial health
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officials for the work they did
during the launch of the report
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card.
We were able to get embargoed
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copies out to the officials so
they had a copy in advance.
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They could be prepared for media
inquiries and inquiries from
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governor's offices or
legislators or those sorts of
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things.
Now the work comes of actually
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putting the report card to use.
So again, I would say this is an
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opportunity lean in with your
maternal and child health teams.
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Think about where there are
opportunities to lift up the
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work they're doing.
Think about the opportunities to
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work across your department.
So often the funding that comes
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from the federal level is
categorical.
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And so you've got a silo for
maternal and child health here
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and a silo for chronic disease
over here.
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But this report card points out.
So clearly these are linked.
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And so this is a great
opportunity internally to bring
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your folks together and also to
think about reaching out to your
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Medicaid partners.
We know in some states Medicaid
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is in the the same super agency
as the public health agency,
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Sometimes not.
Regardless of how you're
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organized, this is an important
opportunity to be able to to
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reach out to those partners and
say we've got to lock arms and,
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and do this work together.
And so we encourage folks to do
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that.
If for some reason folks don't
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have the report card, they can
find it at
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marchofdimes.org/reportcard.
They can find not only the
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national level report card, but
also their state specific report
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cards there.
Doctor Michael Warren, Chief
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00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:59,520
medical and Health Officer at
March of Dimes. long COVID,
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00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,200
which effects more than 20
million people in the United
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00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,440
States, continues to pose
challenges for individuals and
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00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,400
communities.
It's impact extends far beyond
232
00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,280
clinical care, affecting
workforce participation,
233
00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,680
disability systems, and the
broader social and economic
234
00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:17,520
context of communities.
For public health agencies,
235
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,800
addressing long COVID involves
supporting affected individuals
236
00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:22,760
through surveillance and access
to care.
237
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,640
A new ASTO collection of long
COVID resources supports these
238
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:28,920
efforts and encourages
coordinated action among
239
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,520
healthcare, public health, and
community partners, which is
240
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,960
crucial to reduce impact and aid
recovery for individuals and
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00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,640
communities.
Find more at the link in the
242
00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,720
show notes.
Astos boundary spanning.
243
00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,480
Leadership BSL.
Training is designed to build
244
00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,400
leadership capacity to establish
direction, alignment and
245
00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,920
commitment across boundaries in
service of a higher vision or
246
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,240
goal.
This capacity is vital.
247
00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,920
Within and across individuals,
groups, teams and organizations,
248
00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,640
the DSL is used to develop
strategies and practices to lead
249
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,480
across boundaries, sectors, and
differences to unlock
250
00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:05,880
innovation.
This training will focus on
251
00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,040
applying.
BSL principles to.
252
00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,680
Addressing Alzheimer's disease
and related dementia risk
253
00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,240
reduction.
Find out more about the training
254
00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,080
at the link in the show.
Notes This has been Public
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00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,520
Health Review Morning Edition.
I'm John Sheehan for the
256
00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:22,280
Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials.
00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,040
This is Public Health Review
MORNING EDITION for Wednesday,
2
00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,520
February 11th, 2026.
I'm John Sheehan with news for
3
00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:09,280
the Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials.
4
00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,120
Today we hear about the latest
March of Dimes report card on
5
00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:16,200
birth outcomes, and the headline
is hard to ignore.
6
00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,200
The nation earns AD Plus for
preterm birth Doctor Michael
7
00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,800
Warren, chief medical and health
officer at March of Dimes, joins
8
00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,560
us to explain the report, what's
driving poor outcomes, and what
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00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,080
public health leaders can
actually do about it.
10
00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,840
The United States is not faring
very well when it comes to
11
00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,600
maternal and infant health
outcomes.
12
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,600
Every year, March of Dimes
releases our report card.
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00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,120
States are very accustomed to
getting a grade on preterm
14
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:49,080
birth, and we continued to have
this grade of D plus for the
15
00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,040
nation when it comes to preterm
birth.
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00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,400
When you look at how the states
fare, certainly there were some
17
00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:56,880
states that did better than
others.
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00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,720
But what we saw is that half of
all states got AD or an F And,
19
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:03,960
you know, I don't know about
your listeners, but if I brought
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00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,120
home that report card, we we
would have had a corrective
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00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:07,760
action plan.
We would have had some work to
22
00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,080
do.
And so I think it really is an
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00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,560
important reminder of just how
much work we've got left to do
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00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,400
when it comes to improving birth
outcomes in this country.
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00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,040
Yeah.
And for the fourth straight
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00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,200
year, that is dire.
What should?
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00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,600
Public health leaders focus on
1st what is How do you How do
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00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,480
you eat this elephant?
Well, I think one thing that I
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00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,280
always emphasize when I'm
talking to state health
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00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,240
officials is they all know these
numbers take time to move,
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00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,440
particularly when we're talking
about things like preterm birth.
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00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,320
One of the leading drivers that
we saw in this year's report
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00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:47,560
card were high rates of chronic
conditions like high blood
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00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,200
pressure and diabetes and
unhealthy weight.
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00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,880
And it takes a while to change
those things.
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00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,840
And so the the first take away
is to recognize that we're not
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00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,200
going to fix this and in one
year, but that you do hope to
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00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,480
see some progress in some of
those areas that lead up to
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00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,040
these outcomes.
And one of the places to look
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00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,680
for that is where you may be
able to make some progress on
41
00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,600
the the policy front.
And so looking at where there
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00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,280
may be gaps between what your
state is doing and where there
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00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,760
may be policy options to be able
to to improve birth outcomes.
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00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,600
And do you think it's important
to make that distinction, to
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00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:26,560
make that sort of that narrative
link between chronic disease and
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00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:31,160
higher infant mortality?
So we absolutely know there's a
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00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,640
link.
And so, for example, in women
48
00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,480
who have these chronic
conditions, whether it's high
49
00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,720
blood pressure or diabetes or
unhealthy weight, their rates of
50
00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,760
preterm birth are higher.
The rates of infant mortality
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00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,880
are largely driven in this
country by preterm birth.
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00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,240
We also know this is not just
about baby.
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00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,400
When we think about maternal
health outcomes, moms who go
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00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,160
into pregnancy with diabetes or
high blood pressure, unhealthy
55
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,120
weight, more likely to have
worse outcomes for themselves.
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00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,000
And so we know these are
important indicators.
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00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,040
And these are not not new
challenges for state and
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00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,920
territorial health officials.
These are perennial challenges
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00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,200
and I would point out that some
of our colleagues are doing
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00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,560
better than others.
And so we did see for example
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00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,600
that 19 states improved their
grades when it comes to the
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00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,960
report card and improved their
preterm birth rates, including
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in some states where there are
baseline high rates of chronic
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00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,720
disease where folks have really
doubled down and said what can
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00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,680
we do to to make improvements.
So so change is possible.
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00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,680
Yeah, that's very heartening
that it's not an intractable
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problem, that things can be
done.
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00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,240
Right.
And we talked a lot about
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00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,000
chronic disease, but that's one
piece of the puzzle.
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The other thing that really
jumped out here relates to
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00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,400
access to care.
And so a couple of statistics
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00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,160
that jumped out.
One was when we look at women
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00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,960
who started prenatal care early,
those percentages got worse.
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00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:03,200
So now only about 3/4 of women
got prenatal care that started
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00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,960
in the first trimester.
So the goal is that women start
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00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,600
prenatal care early.
That number has continued to to
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00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,080
dip down and right now we're at
about 75% of women across the
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00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:15,720
country getting prenatal care
early.
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00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,040
The other statistic that's in
the report card looks at
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00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,480
adequacy of prenatal care.
So not only when did prenatal
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00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,840
care start, but did women get
the recommended number of
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00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,040
visits.
And what we saw is that the
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00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,200
percentage women who are getting
inadequate prenatal care is also
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00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,600
getting worse.
That number is creeping up.
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00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,080
And so and these are
inextricably linked, right?
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00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,240
So when you think about a high
proportion of women who have
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00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,080
chronic diseases, like we talked
about either starting prenatal
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00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,200
care late or not getting all the
prenatal care they need.
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00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,200
Then you've got women who are
coming into pregnancy with a
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00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,400
higher risk of bad outcomes for
themselves and their baby and
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00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,960
less of a runway to be able to
identify those conditions early
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00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:03,680
on, properly manage those so
that we get the best outcome for
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00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,280
mom and baby.
So this access issue is, is one
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00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,520
that we've really got to think
about how we tackle as well.
95
00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,840
Absolutely.
And on the policy front, could
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00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,720
you prioritize other policy
initiatives that have that lead
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00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,840
to better outcomes?
Well, one of the things that we
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00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:22,160
know is vital is insurance
coverage.
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00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,640
And so right now lots of folks
are talking about Medicaid.
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00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,600
Medicaid particularly important
here because Medicaid covers 4
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00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,800
in 10 births in the United
States.
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00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,760
And so if we think about
improving birth outcomes, we
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00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,160
can't have a serious
conversation about that without
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00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,440
thinking about how we address
insurance access, particularly
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00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,280
through Medicaid.
Many states have extended
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00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,120
Medicaid coverage to 12 months
postpartum.
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00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,560
That is a really good thing.
Let's take maternal health for
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00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:52,960
starters.
We know from the good work that
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00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,480
states are doing through
maternal mortality review
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00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:00,000
committees that many pregnancy
related deaths actually happen
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00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,560
in that postpartum period.
And so extending that coverage
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00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,960
is really important to be able
to take good care of mom.
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00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,680
But we always talk about with
infant mortality, the goal is to
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00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:11,400
get the baby to their first
birthday.
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00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,840
We also want mom to be there to
celebrate with them.
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00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,160
And so that coverage over that
first year is so important.
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00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,640
A smaller number of states have
actually done Medicaid
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00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:26,760
expansion, so extending Medicaid
to non pregnant adults, for
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00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:28,920
example.
And that becomes particularly
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00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,600
important when we think about
the burden of chronic disease in
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00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,680
the population.
The best prenatal care can't
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00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:41,040
erase years or even decades of
chronic disease that has gone
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00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,000
unmanaged.
And so the goal would be to make
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00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,440
sure that people have insurance
throughout their life course,
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00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,160
particularly throughout their
adult, so that should they
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00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,160
choose to become pregnant, once
they become pregnant, they're in
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00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,000
an optimal state of health or at
least chronic diseases have been
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00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,640
identified and and managed so
that we're lowering the risk for
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00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:00,640
those bad outcomes.
And that's where that Medicaid
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00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,120
expansion piece becomes really
key.
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00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,960
There are other policy
indicators that we report on in
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00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,080
the report card, For example,
maternal mental health
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00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,760
screening.
We know that maternal mental
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00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,520
health conditions are a leading
cause of pregnancy related
135
00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,720
deaths.
And so we want to think about
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00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,760
how we make sure that women are
screened particularly in that
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00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,800
postpartum period and connected
to care.
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00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,760
What we saw in the report card
is that 11 states have actually
139
00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,520
adopted policy through their
state Medicaid programs that
140
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,280
require postpartum screening and
will pay for it in the context
141
00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,440
of a well child visit.
So mom may not go to her own
142
00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,840
follow up visit, but she's often
going to bring baby in for
143
00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,040
baby's visit.
And so if we can screen mom in
144
00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,600
the pediatrician or family
physician's office while baby is
145
00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,960
there, we really take advantage
of an important Nintendo and 11
146
00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,560
states have implemented that
important policy to make that
147
00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,840
even easier to do.
How do you think about how
148
00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,360
states should use the report
card?
149
00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,960
I mean, it's I think designed to
be sort of a a red flag, right?
150
00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,760
It's it's a stark indicator of
like, hey, pay attention to
151
00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:06,880
this.
How should?
152
00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:08,240
Public health officials be using
the.
153
00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:12,000
Report when they make their
cases to, you know, state
154
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,320
officials.
You know, John, prior to coming
155
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,640
to March of Dimes, I was in
federal service and prior to
156
00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,520
that I spent about a decade in
state public health down in
157
00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,040
Tennessee.
The last couple of years I was
158
00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,520
the deputy state health
commissioner and I, I have joked
159
00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,520
since getting here to March of
Dimes that I used to have a love
160
00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,160
hate relationship with the March
of Dimes report card because it
161
00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,400
would come out every year.
And I was in Tennessee.
162
00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,840
We didn't get the best grade.
And so we got a lot of heat for
163
00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,120
that from our governor's office,
from our legislators, from
164
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:46,640
constituents across the state.
And yet we used that as an
165
00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:49,560
opportunity to tell the story
about the good work we were
166
00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:53,640
doing and to help under score
the urgency of the work that we
167
00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,120
were doing.
And so I absolutely understand
168
00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,840
that our state public health
colleagues across the the
169
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,000
country can be frustrated by
these reports.
170
00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,440
And I hope at the same time they
will channel that frustration
171
00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,440
into a positive energy to think
about working with their
172
00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,680
stakeholders to see what can be
done about this.
173
00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,680
I, I think particularly my
background is in maternal and
174
00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,440
child health.
This is a fantastic opportunity
175
00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,440
for state health officials to be
able to lift up the great work
176
00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,640
that's happening in your Title 5
MCH block grant programs.
177
00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:28,320
The timing of that is really
good.
178
00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:30,280
All the states have just done
their five year needs
179
00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,000
assessment.
They've got a brand new five
180
00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,760
year action plan.
This is a real opportunity to
181
00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,360
say we may have these problems,
but here's what we're doing
182
00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,120
about it and here's how you can
join the public health
183
00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,360
enterprise in moving this work
forward.
184
00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,160
I also think, you know, there's
that saying never waste a
185
00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,280
perfectly good crisis.
And so if you're AD or an F
186
00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,520
state and there is this burning
platform, you've got around a
187
00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,880
particular policy item or a
programmatic agenda that you're
188
00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:00,320
trying to push.
Maybe you're trying to get
189
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,280
funding in your, your governor's
budget proposal or get your
190
00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,240
General Assembly to, to push
forward a piece of legislation.
191
00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,480
This may be another tool in your
toolkit as you're as you're
192
00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,000
helping to to move that forward.
Yeah, if you're hearing alarm
193
00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,520
bells and the report inspires
strong feelings.
194
00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:18,480
Well, good.
That's right.
195
00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:19,600
That's right.
Don't.
196
00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,560
Don't let this go to waste.
Michael, are there any next
197
00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:26,640
steps for anyone who wants to
either see the report card or
198
00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,520
for for officials who want to
learn more?
199
00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,640
Well, first I want to thank all
the state and territorial health
200
00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,520
officials for the work they did
during the launch of the report
201
00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:36,080
card.
We were able to get embargoed
202
00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,560
copies out to the officials so
they had a copy in advance.
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They could be prepared for media
inquiries and inquiries from
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governor's offices or
legislators or those sorts of
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things.
Now the work comes of actually
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putting the report card to use.
So again, I would say this is an
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opportunity lean in with your
maternal and child health teams.
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Think about where there are
opportunities to lift up the
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work they're doing.
Think about the opportunities to
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work across your department.
So often the funding that comes
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from the federal level is
categorical.
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And so you've got a silo for
maternal and child health here
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and a silo for chronic disease
over here.
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But this report card points out.
So clearly these are linked.
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And so this is a great
opportunity internally to bring
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your folks together and also to
think about reaching out to your
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Medicaid partners.
We know in some states Medicaid
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is in the the same super agency
as the public health agency,
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Sometimes not.
Regardless of how you're
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organized, this is an important
opportunity to be able to to
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reach out to those partners and
say we've got to lock arms and,
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and do this work together.
And so we encourage folks to do
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that.
If for some reason folks don't
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have the report card, they can
find it at
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marchofdimes.org/reportcard.
They can find not only the
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national level report card, but
also their state specific report
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cards there.
Doctor Michael Warren, Chief
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medical and Health Officer at
March of Dimes. long COVID,
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which effects more than 20
million people in the United
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States, continues to pose
challenges for individuals and
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communities.
It's impact extends far beyond
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clinical care, affecting
workforce participation,
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disability systems, and the
broader social and economic
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context of communities.
For public health agencies,
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addressing long COVID involves
supporting affected individuals
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through surveillance and access
to care.
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A new ASTO collection of long
COVID resources supports these
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efforts and encourages
coordinated action among
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healthcare, public health, and
community partners, which is
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crucial to reduce impact and aid
recovery for individuals and
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communities.
Find more at the link in the
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00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,720
show notes.
Astos boundary spanning.
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00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,480
Leadership BSL.
Training is designed to build
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leadership capacity to establish
direction, alignment and
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00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,920
commitment across boundaries in
service of a higher vision or
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goal.
This capacity is vital.
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Within and across individuals,
groups, teams and organizations,
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00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,640
the DSL is used to develop
strategies and practices to lead
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00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,480
across boundaries, sectors, and
differences to unlock
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00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:05,880
innovation.
This training will focus on
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00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,040
applying.
BSL principles to.
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Addressing Alzheimer's disease
and related dementia risk
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reduction.
Find out more about the training
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00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,080
at the link in the show.
Notes This has been Public
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00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,520
Health Review Morning Edition.
I'm John Sheehan for the
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Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials.