Lauren Barca, MHA, RN, BSN, VP of Quality of 86Borders shares here views in HIT Consultant on why health plans must address SDOH and use personal engagement to improve prenatal care.
Pregnancy is one of the most-expensive episodes for insurers, averaging about $19,000 for pregnancy, vaginal delivery and postpartum care, and $26,000 for cesarean births. Compared with other industrialized nations, costs in the U.S. are nearly eight times higher.
And what do mothers in the U.S. get in return for this high-priced care? They get the highest death rate per 100,000 live births in the developed world, with 18.6 deaths recorded in 2022, compared with 5.5 deaths per 100,000 in the U.K. and zero in Norway. Death rates among black women are even higher, at 50 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the CDC.