October 29, 2025
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model, a decade-long initiative designed to improve maternal health outcomes for women enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. This model represents a significant federal investment aimed at addressing disproportionately high rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the U.S. As subject matter experts in health data and technology, we see this as a pivotal moment for state Medicaid agencies and their healthcare partners.
The TMaH model is structured around three core pillars: improving access to care, enhancing quality and safety, and delivering whole-person care. This framework provides a strategic roadmap for addressing the systemic gaps in maternal healthcare. For OB/GYN practices and health systems, understanding these pillars is crucial for aligning with this national priority and driving meaningful change.
Pillar 1: Access to Care, Infrastructure, and Workforce Capacity
The TMaH model directly confronts a primary barrier to better maternal health: limited access to a full range of providers and services. Many expectant mothers, particularly those in underserved areas, lack access to midwives, doulas, and perinatal Community Health Workers (CHWs). The model aims to change this by supporting states in building the necessary infrastructure and workforce to integrate these vital resources.
Key Objectives:
- Increase Access: Promote the use of birth centers and midwives to offer more choices for low-risk pregnancies.
- Expand Community Services: Integrate perinatal CHWs and doulas, who provide critical non-clinical support that can reduce postpartum anxiety and depression.
- Modernize Data Infrastructure: Enhance data collection and information sharing between providers and community-based organizations through improved electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchanges (HIEs).
Our Subject Matter Expert Perspective:
The U.S. faces the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income nations, with access disparities especially affecting marginalized communities enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. These gaps stem from challenges in accessing high-quality, consistent care. The TMaH model aims to address infrastructure and workforce limitations, such as the availability of midwives, doulas, and community health workers (CHWs). Digital solutions, like HerCare’s maternal health software, can further enhance these efforts by streamlining the identification of at-risk pregnancies and improving care coordination across multiple providers. By enabling seamless communication among midwives, CHWs, and doulas, technology ensures that women receive comprehensive care regardless of their socioeconomic status or geographic location.
Pillar 2: Quality Improvement and Safety
The second pillar focuses on standardizing and elevating the quality of care provided in clinical settings. The TMaH model promotes the adoption of “patient safety bundles”—evidence-informed protocols designed to reduce preventable complications and make childbirth safer. This initiative also encourages hospitals to achieve the CMS “Birthing-Friendly” designation, a mark of quality and commitment to maternal health.
Key Objectives:
- Implement Safety Protocols: Drive the adoption of patient safety bundles to reduce complications related to hypertension, cardiac conditions, and substance use disorders.
- Promote Birthing-Friendly Hospitals: Encourage facilities to meet federal quality standards focused specifically on maternal health.
- Foster Shared Decision-Making: Introduce processes that empower mothers to be active participants in their care plans and birth experience.
Our Subject Matter Expert Perspective:
Maternal health care involves numerous touchpoints and providers, often resulting in fragmented communication and care. The TMaH model’s emphasis on quality improvement relies on effective coordination among obstetricians, pediatricians, midwives, and CHWs. A software solution such as HerCare can bridge communication gaps, providing a central hub for patient information and enabling all stakeholders to collaborate efficiently. Real-time data sharing, alerts, and collaborative features ensure each provider remains attuned to the evolving needs of mothers, thereby delivering continuous, coordinated, and high-quality care throughout the pregnancy and postpartum experience.
Pillar 3: Whole-Person Care Delivery
The final pillar of the TMaH model calls for a fundamental shift away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to a model of whole-person care. This requires care plans that are customized to each mother’s unique physical, mental, and social needs. It emphasizes routine screening for health-related social needs (HRSNs), perinatal depression, and anxiety, with reliable referral pathways to community resources.
Key Objectives:
- Personalize Care Plans: Institute evidence-based risk assessments to develop care plans that align with individual patient needs and preferences.
- Integrate Mental and Behavioral Health: Routinely screen for and follow up on perinatal depression, anxiety, and substance use.
- Address Social Determinants of Health: Screen for HRSNs like housing, transportation, and food insecurity, and establish referral pathways to address them.
- Advance Health Equity: Require states to develop and implement Health Equity Plans and provide cultural competency training for providers.
Our Subject Matter Expert Perspective:
Whole-person care, one of the model’s cornerstones, places individualized birth plans and holistic care at the forefront. HerCare’s software helps actualize this vision by offering tailored risk assessments based on comprehensive clinical and behavioral health data. By continuously tracking metrics such as blood pressure, glucose, hemoglobin, ferritin, and mental health screenings, the platform empowers clinicians to intervene early and personalize care plans. This proactive approach reduces unnecessary interventions, prevents complications, and promotes positive birth experiences for mothers and their newborns.
The Path Forward: Long-Term Sustainability and Broader Impact
The TMaH Model creates a robust foundation for transforming maternal care, but challenges such as limited state participation remain. Technology plays a pivotal role in driving long-term sustainability and reducing costs by tracking outcomes, reducing inefficiencies, and optimizing care delivery. By supporting remote monitoring and enabling scalable, integrated solutions across states, platforms like HerCare can help expand the benefits of TMaH—including in states not selected for the federal model.
Furthermore, by reducing resource waste and improving patient risk identification, such solutions promote a more sustainable maternal health infrastructure. This ensures lower overall healthcare costs and improved outcomes, extending high-quality maternal care beyond the limitations of the current model.
Tiffany Hall is a nationally recognized leader in Patient Blood Management (PBM), bringing over 35 years of clinical nursing experience and deep expertise in anemia management and transfusion safety. As Clinical Technology Director and Product Owner for MyBloodHealth (MBH) and HERCARE, Tiffany leads the design and delivery of technology solutions that advance blood health and maternal care outcomes. Tiffany began her PBM career at Eastern Maine Medical Center and went on to serve as Clinical Director of PBM and Transfusion Safety Officer for a multi-hospital system in Florida. Since joining hc1 Insights, Inc. (formerly Accumen) in 2018, she has continued to shape innovative, system-wide PBM strategies grounded in clinical excellence and data-driven insights.
