CMS to Roll Out ‘Birthing-Friendly’ Hospital Tag on Care Compare Site

From FIERCE Healthcare

The Biden administration wants to add a “birthing-friendly” designation to facilities on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Care Compare website. The designation, announced Tuesday as part of a larger call to action from the White House to address maternal care, would apply to hospitals that provide perinatal care and participate in a maternity care quality improvement collaborative.

CMS is also encouraging states to take advantage of an option in the American Rescue Plan Act to provide a year of postpartum coverage to pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

“No mother should have to fight for her coverage or care during pregnancy or while caring for a newborn,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in a statement. “CMS is doing everything we can to support the health of new parents and families and to advance health equity across the country.” CMS’ Care Compare website lets consumers compare doctors, hospitals and other providers that participate in Medicare. The agency also announced Tuesday a new structural quality measure for its Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program starting with all discharges from Oct. 1 of this year.

Hospitals will have to attest whether “they participate in a statewide and/or national maternal safety quality collaborative and whether they have implemented the recommended patient safety practices or bundles to improve maternal outcomes,” CMS said in a release.  A hospital that chooses to participate with this measure and others can be considered “birthing-friendly” on Care Compare.

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