Funding Received to Evaluate the Adoption of California’s Maternal Mental Health Law
Institute for Medicaid InnovationFunding Received to Evaluate the Adoption of California’s Maternal Mental Health Law
The Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI), a national non-profit, nonpartisan research organization, has launched a new project focused on Medi-Cal health plans’ interpretation and implementation of maternal mental health legislation passed in 2019. One component of this legislation – Assembly Bill (AB) 2193 – requires health care service plans and insurers to develop maternal mental health programs. Through key stakeholder interviews, the project will look at health plans’ understanding and implementation of AB 2193 and identify needs and opportunities to support Medi-Cal managed care plans and contracted providers in full implementation of the law.
For Medi-Cal health plans, the need for AB 2193 still exists and has increased since the bill was enacted. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified maternal mental health needs nationally and has disproportionately affected populations including Black/African American, Latinx, and people who are of low-socioeconomic status who historically are at higher risk for maternal mental health disorders. Understanding the barriers, challenges, implementation models, success stories, needs, and opportunities – in the context of the broader health plan and maternal health policy landscape – is crucial to critically develop strategies to support large scale implementation of AB 2193.
This work is supported by a grant from the California Health Care Foundation.
About the Institute for Medicaid Innovation
The Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization that provides independent information and analysis to inform Medicaid policy and improve the health of the nation.
About the California Health Care Foundation
The California Health Care Foundation is dedicated to advancing meaningful, measurable improvements in the way the health care delivery system provides care to the people of California, particularly those with low incomes and those whose needs are not well served by the status quo. We work to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford.
