IMI Receives Honorable Mention for Gibbs Leadership Prize

IMI Receives Honorable Mention for Gibbs Leadership Prize
IMI’s groundbreaking analysis and scientific paper, “Race, Medicaid Coverage, and Equity in Maternal Morbidity,” received an honorable mention for the international Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize awarded by the Women’s Health journal for scholarship that advances the field of women and gender health. The paper, co-authored by Dr. Clare C. Brown, Caroline E. Adams, and Dr. Jennifer E. Moore, examined rates of severe maternal morbidity as compared between Medicaid and private insurance. The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize is awarded annually to recognize excellence in research on women’s health care or policy. Priority is given to manuscripts that report the results of original research and that improve understanding of an important women’s health issue.

The study evaluated rates of SMM during childbirth delivery hospitalizations using the National Inpatient Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, years 2016-2017. The analysis found that, among all payers, Black pregnant individuals had 2.2 times the rate of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) compared with White, and that Hispanic and Asian pregnant individuals had 1.6 and 1.5 times the rates. The study found that Black pregnant individuals with Medicaid did not have higher rates of SMM compared to Black pregnant individuals with private insurance. The study also found that Black-White, Hispanic-White, and Asian-White disparities were smaller when considering Medicaid and private coverage groups separately. The differences found should not be attributed to race and ethnicity itself but rather to the root causes that exacerbate the inequity, including structural racism and implicit biases. The study examined the rates of SMM in pregnant individuals with different payers, stratified by race/ethnicity. Given the consistently higher rates of SMM among Black pregnant individuals compared to White, and for those with Medicaid coverage compared to those with private insurance, efforts that focus on addressing structural oppressors are needed to improve equity in maternal morbidity and other maternal health outcomes.

About the Institute for Medicaid Innovation
The Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization that provides independent, nonpartisan information and analysis to inform Medicaid policy and improve the health of the nation.

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