This toolkit was developed by the Pennsylvania Doula Commission in partnership with community members to educate families, Doulas, and policy makers across Pennsylvania about the upcoming Medicaid benefit to cover and reimburse Doulas for the services they provide
Dr. Marian Jarlenski's study looked at the duration of medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy and postpartum by race and ethnicity in Medicaid and found that:
- There are racial/ethnic inequities in MOUD use during pregnancy.
- Less is known about racial/ethnic inequities in MOUD use postpartum.
- White women had longer duration of MOUD postpartum than Hispanic or Black women.
- Inequities differed by type of MOUD.
Access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right, yet disparities in cancer treatment persist among different insurance coverage groups. A study by Dr. Lindsay Sabik and her team focused on women aged 21-63 years who underwent breast cancer surgery. Dr. Sabik found that treatment disparities were underreported in both data sources.
Congratulations to Dr. Marian Jarlenski for a successful PCORI grant focused on improving pregnancy-related health outcomes.
Alice Gao, Dr. Liz Krans, and Dr. Marian Jarlenski found that later diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnancy among non-White/Hispanic women partially explains the disparities in medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) receipt in this population. Universal substance use screening earlier in pregnancy, combined with connecting patients to evidence-based and culturally competent care, is an approach that could close the observed racial-ethnic disparity in MOUD receipt.
Findings from Dr. Borrero's and Dr. Jarlenski's recent study show that patients residing in states with Medicaid coverage for abortion had lower odds and rates of:
Read more: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36075060/
Dr. Lindsay Sabik looked at Medicaid's role in reducing the burden of cancer in men with HIV as well as the need for improvement in the accessibility and affordability of care, continuous insurance coverage, and reducing the financial burden of cancer treatment.
Read more about this study here: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.34167?fbclid=IwAR1Ii5VFANSUn-iU8N91hoigTPKD75AtwE_j3zl41hwFQqecUVOidDDtFso
Our associate director, Dr. Marian Jarlenski, wrote an invited commentary on Medicaid policy and pregnancy outcomes. Read more here:
Dr. Marian Jarlenski and Dr. Dara Mendez will investigate the implementation of and effects of 3 equity-focused policies in Pennsylvania's Medicaid program: a payment incentive available to Medicaid health plans that achieve excellent outcomes for Black pregnant persons and young children; bundled payment model for pregnancy care that rewards providers who reduce racial inequities; and implementation of Regional Accountable Health Councils to design equity-focused community interventions.
