The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) selected Kansas as one of 15 states to participate in its Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model program, which includes a $17 million grant award over the next 10 years. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) will utilize the grant to enhance the work occurring with Kansas Medicaid and Maternal and Child Health Programs.

Overview

The goal of the TMaH Model is to improve maternal and child health care for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) members. Specifically, the TMaH model aims to reduce the rates of: low-risk cesarean sections, severe maternal morbidity, and the incidence of low birthweight infants while improving the overall care experience for pregnant women.

Model Pillars

The model is centered on three pillars, which include access to care, infrastructure and workforce capacity, quality improvement and safety, and whole-person care delivery. 

The grant will allow KDHE to build upon its work in the following:

• Hospital Engagement for Birthing-Friendly Designation
  • KDHE, in collaboration with the Kansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative, the Kansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee and other partners, is recruiting and educating facilities to achieve CMS’s birthing-friendly designation status. TMaH will align with these key public health initiatives to further address barriers and increase quality services and patient safety.
• Whole-Person Care
  • KDHE’s Kansas Connecting Communities and Maternal Anti-Violence Innovation and Sharing programs will be pivotal in enhancing the patient education and universal screening components of the TMaH model. These programs offer provider consultation, training and technical assistance for perinatal mental health, substance use and intimate partner violence. Resources will be scaled to ensure the behavioral health and social determinants of the health needs of all patients.
• Telehealth and Telemonitoring Prioritization
  • TMaH will enhance telehealth services to overcome geographic barriers, improving access to specialists and reducing travel. KDHE will implement robust telemonitoring for hypertension and gestational diabetes and collaborate on a State Plan Amendment to expand covered services under Medicaid. 
• Home Visiting Program Expansion
  • The TMaH payment model will make home visiting sustainable by addressing funding gaps. KDHE’s strength-based approach improves outcomes in pregnancy, parenting, and early childhood health while TMaH funding expands reach and quality. 

Implementation and Oversight

KDHE's TMaH model will be guided by an advisory council whose charge will be to determine the best way to foster strong partnerships, engage the community and stakeholders, and perform assessments related to workforce capacity. With implementation in 55 counties, the advisory council will oversee activities such as:

• Performing a comprehensive workforce capacity assessment to measure the ability of obstetricians/gynecologists (OB/GYNs,) midwives, doulas and community health workers (CHWs) to meet the needs of the populations that they serve and identify necessary steps to increase workforce capacity.
• Engaging with stakeholders – including community-based organizations (CBOs), managed care organizations (MCOs), doulas, certified nurse midwives (CNMS), certified professional midwives (CPMs), CHWs, OB/GYNs, pediatricians, family healthcare providers, researchers, community members, etc. to identify barriers, personal experiences, and brainstorm potential interventions for improvement.
• Building a strong network of partnerships between hospitals, birth centers and CBOs to encourage a robust interprofessional maternal health workforce to provide high-quality care for pregnant and postpartum women and their families.  

Participating Counties

The TMaH program will be implemented in the following counties: Allen, Anderson, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Edwards, Elk, Ford, Finney, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Linn, Lyon, Marion, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morton, Neosho, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rush, Scott, Seward, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Wichita, Wilson and Woodson.

Stakeholder Engagement

TMaH staff would love to hear from you!

Complete our stakeholder survey. If you’re interested in a stakeholder interview or focus group, please include your contact information so that we can follow up with you to engage in a deeper discussion. 

Stakeholder Survey

Contact

TMaH Team

Email: KDHE.TMaH@ks.gov

Frequently Asked Questions