Jane’s Friday Thoughts are a collection of entries on the state of modern maternity from OB-GYN and Maven Medical Director, Jane van Dis.

As a physician, my focus is health, science, best practices, best outcomes, patient satisfaction, and following recommendations and guidelines from medical societies like the American College of OB-GYN. Physicians often know very little about cost, especially not the insurance side of cost. Still, the ethical and judicious use of limited resources can and should be part of every physician's conversation. For example, I often think about birth control prescriptions, and how when women don't have low-cost access to something so basic, their lives can be markedly impacted. I discuss this in an interview I did with Popular Science (with the assistance of Maven’s PR firm, Inkhouse). It was published yesterday, and you can read it here.  

But in today's Friday Maven Message, I wanted to talk a little bit about the costs of high-risk pregnancy.  

Why it matters

• High-risk pregnancies comprise 6-7% of all pregnancies in the US and contribute to increased rates of cesarean section, as well as NICU admissions, both high health care costs. Pregnancy and childbirth account for 25% of all hospital admissions in the US.
• National average for engagement in prenatal care (of any kind) is only 70.8%.
• $1 billion is spent annually in the US on high-risk pregnancies.
• For every $1 spent on preconception care, $1.60 is saved on maternal and fetal care costs. These are costs prevented by engaging women in health care and screening before they become pregnant—for instance, getting them on a glucose control drug, if necessary.
• 50% of pregnancies in the US are unplanned.
• 13% of births in the US are preterm.
• The average cost of a baby born at term is around $5000.
• The average cost of a baby born preterm is around $55,000.
• The average cost of a baby born preterm prior to 32 weeks is over $250,000.
• According to the March of Dimes, preterm births in 2014 cost employers in excess of $12 billion.

How Maven helps

Studies have shown that when women engage before pregnancy or in the first trimester, they can have markedly improved pregnancies. With proper prenatal care, high-risk conditions can be diagnosed and treated early, women are more compliant with recommendations, and outcomes for mothers and babies are improved. Maven’s Care Coordinators do an amazing job of seeing the whole patient and helping clients navigate their healthcare.

Bottom line

A whole-patient approach to prenatal care saves money and improves outcomes, and Maven offers this through engagement, education, anticipatory guidance, screening and referrals.

Happy Friday everyone!

Take care,
Jane

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Jane’s Friday Thoughts are a collection of entries on the state of modern maternity from OB-GYN and Maven Medical Director, Jane van Dis.

Tuesday and Wednesday were busy baby days for me: I delivered five and assisted with two cesarean births in 24 hours! Even though it was kind of exhausting, I love my job—and I felt especially good about the fact that of the five women who delivered vaginally, only one had a tear, and that tear was a simple second-degree tear (mostly because the baby had a very large head). When women can delivery safely with minimal harm to their bodies, that's a real win for all.

After a big baby week, I read a very interesting article in Thompson Reuters today with these key takeaways.

Why it matters

• U.S. employer spending on maternity care rose 50 percent in the last decade, fueled by a jump in C-section rates despite years of efforts to curb the practice.
• “Maternity is one of the main drivers of high cost claims” for employers.
• Avoiding unnecessary C-sections and minimizing [birth] complications “decreases turnover in the workforce following the birth of a child”.
• GE executives said the program so far has saved the company nearly $2 million because of lower negotiated fees for maternity care.

How Maven helps

This article really drove home for me how Maven’s cost-saving platforms, education, and provider network significantly influence cost savings on maternity care in the US.  

Even though the article wasn't about us, it was about using best practices, and trying to study and drill down on ROI on maternity costs and improved outcomes—something we at Maven are 100% committed to doing.  

Bottom line

Decreasing cesarean rates, educating women and families, lowering employer-health care costs, improving the maternity journey, and preventing vaginal tears during vaginal births is Maven’s goal every week.

Take care,
Jane

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