Perinatal Health among Medicaid Beneficiaries in North Carolina, 2018

Beginning in July 2021, North Carolina Medicaid and the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) transitioned from a fee-for-service system to risk-based managed care for most beneficiaries, including most parents, children, and pregnant women. Given the large role that Medicaid plays in maternal and infant health, it is important to document how this transition may affect the health of pregnant women and infants in North Carolina.In this chartbook, we use 2018 natality data and 2015–18 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data to establish baseline estimates of perinatal health for Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina before the transition to Medicaid managed care and the implementation of other Medicaid transformation initiatives.