| Equation | (# pregnant women) x (% mothers getting assistance solely because of the program) x [(% participants giving birth to low-weight babies) / (% mothers who typically give birth to a low-weight baby)-1] x (# QALY increase) x ($ QALY)) |
| Explanation | Enhanced prenatal care programs delivered through Medicaid provide non-clinical services that support maternal wellness and infant health during the prenatal period, such as care coordination, health education, risk assessment, psychosocial support, or nutritional counseling. These programs are delivered in a primary healthcare setting and provided by either a nurse or a social worker. Women are eligible for these programs during pregnancy, with some benefits continuing through the first twelve months postpartum. Participants typically receive program benefits for three to sixteen months, including both prenatal and postpartum services. Number of pregnant women: Reported by program. Percentage of women getting assistance solely because of the program: Estimated by Constellation Fund staff. Percentage of participants giving birth to low-weight babies: Reported by program. Percentage of women who will typically give birth to low-weight baby: [See below]. The appropriate counterfactual is selected by Constellation staff based on reported characteristics of program participants and their community. Babies born at low birth weight in single births (Minnesota Compass, 2018): · [5.2%] All mothers in the Twin-Cities (2016) · [6.8%] Mothers of color in the Twin Cities (2016) · [7.7%] Black mothers in the Twin Cities (2016) · [20%] Poor neighborhoods Other possible sources to estimate baseline rates range from [7%-20%] based on several studies. The rate of low birth weight is about 15 percent across all education levels for black mothers, rising to 20 percent in poor neighborhoods, and is about 7 percent among all Latina mothers (Collins, Wambach, David & Rankin, 2009; Elo et al., 2009; Hamilton, Martin & Ventura, 2010). QALY increase: [2.8]. This is the estimate for the value of avoidance of low birth weight based on the work of Johnson & Shoeni (2007), which finds that children born at less than 5.5 pounds are more likely to experience poor health in childhood and adulthood even after accounting for many covariates. Technical note: QALY impact estimated by Constellation staff using results from Johnson & Shoeni (2007) as follows: the authors estimate the impact of LBW on health quality index (100pts) to be 3.77. We assume a life expectancy of 75 years, resulting in an impact of 2.8 QALYs [3.77 x 75/100]. $ value per QALY: [$50,000] Benefits are then discounted to present value based on the average age of participation to life expectancy. |
| References | Minnesota Department of Health (2017). Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from https://pqc.health.state.mn.us/mhsq/index.jsp Collins, J. W., Jr., Wambach, J., David, R. J. & Rankin, K. M. (2009). Women’s lifelong exposure to neighborhood poverty and low birth weight: A population study. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 13(3), 326–333. Elo, I., Culhane, J., Kohler, I., O’Campo, P., Burke, J., Messer, L., Kaufman, J., Laraia, B., Eyster, J., and Holzman, C. (2009). Neighbourhood deprivation and small-for-gestational term births in the United States. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 23(1), 87–96. Hamilton, B. E., Martin, J. A., & Ventura, S. J. (2010). Births: preliminary data for 2009. National Vital Statistics Reports: From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 59(3), 1–19. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25073731 Johnson, R. C., & Schoeni, R. F. (2011)., and The influence of early life events on human capital, health status, and labor market outcomes over the life course. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 11(3). |
HEA001 Prenatal programs leading to reduced low-weight births (program data on low-weight births available)
