ATLANTA – Georgia health officials are hoping to improve care – and save money – by steering pregnant women and doctors away from some early deliveries.
State officials are doing this by eliminating Medicaid payments for elective C-sections and induced deliveries before 39 weeks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The move, which will take effect July 1, will save the state’s ailing Medicaid health program for the poor an estimated $7 million this fiscal year and next by avoiding costly medical complications and stays in neonatal intensive care units.
“This was a policy decision that will result in better health outcomes for Georgia families,” said Christopher Schrimpf, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Community Health, which oversees Medicaid. “But it also has a secondary benefit of being financially sound.”
The state’s Medicaid budget is facing a nearly $400 million hole despite tens of millions of dollars in proposed cuts over the next couple of years.