Foundation and collaborative outline quality steps: doulas, home visiting, payment alignment

Ginny Weir (Foundation for Healthcare Quality) and Emily Nudelman (BRI collaborative) told the committee the state has strong quality resources but remains low in perinatal care rankings. They urged preserving one‑year postpartum coverage, supporting doula reimbursement, expanding perinatal behavioral health integration, and aligning payment models to improve quality and reduce administrative burden.

Nudelman highlighted the BRI collaborative’s work on perinatal behavioral health guidance, care coordination and community linkages and noted pilots in telehealth, midwifery integration and licensed‑midwife bridging programs that are testing approaches to keep care high quality while improving access in rural and underserved areas.

Weir emphasized that obstetrics can be a financial loss leader for hospitals and that coordinated quality work can reduce unnecessary interventions while improving outcomes; both presenters urged investment in culturally responsive, trauma‑informed services and stronger data linkages to better measure outcomes.

Legislators and agency staff discussed payment changes coming with HR 1 and the need to monitor impacts on quality and access as reimbursement models shift.