Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Episode: Advancing Maternal and Child Health Through Data, Partnerships, and Policy
Date: January 23, 2026
Host: Jacob Emerson
Guest: Dr. Alice Chen, Executive Vice President and Chief Health Officer, Centene

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Alice Chen of Centene, a leading managed-care organization, discussing how Centene is advancing maternal and child health by leveraging data, partnerships, and policy. Dr. Chen details the company's multipronged approach to perinatal care, their role in founding the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice, and the importance of evidence-based interventions in tackling the maternal health crisis—especially in rural and underserved populations.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Dr. Alice Chen's Role and Centene’s Footprint

• Centene’s mission: Transformation of community health, with a focus on underserved Americans, through government programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace products.
• Scale:
  • Serves more than 28 million members across all 50 states.
  • Responsible for over 330,000 births last year, 30% considered high-risk.
• Dr. Chen's Background: Broad experience in primary care, academia, public health, philanthropy, and government. At Centene, she oversees clinical policies, medical affairs, health equity, and clinical strategy.
• Approach:
  • Leverage national data and scale for local community impact.
  • Partner with organizations at state, regional, and national levels to serve vulnerable populations.
• Quote:

  "My role is tied directly to our mission, which is transforming the health of the communities we serve one person at a time." (02:43)

2. Launch of the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice

(Starting at 04:37)

• Centene as Founding Partner: Focused on rural maternal and child health, launched with Heartland Forward, starting in Arkansas.
• Rationale: Largest Medicaid MCO and TANF payer, so maternal and child health is a core area.
• Multipronged Approach:
  • Care management and value-based care to incentivize pre- and postnatal visits.
  • Partnerships to expand evidence-based care models.
  • Introducing technology-enabled interventions (telehealth, remote monitoring).
• Role of Midwifery:
  • Main goal is to expand midwifery education and improve the workforce pipeline.
  • Emphasizes midwifery as a high-quality, cost-effective rural solution.
• About Heartland Forward: Think/do tank focused on economic and health improvement in the Midwest and South.
• Quote:

  "As the largest Medicaid MCU in the country... we have very naturally a focus on pregnant women, new mothers, infants, children." (04:38)

3. The Rural Maternal Health Crisis and Evidence-Based Models

(09:06 - 13:28)

• Scope of Crisis:
  • 35% of U.S. counties are maternity deserts—no obstetric clinician.
  • Over 1,000 counties lack a birthing facility.
• Key Interventions with Evidence:
  • Midwifery-led models (for average-risk pregnancies): Lower C-section, preterm birth, and low birthweight rates.
  • Community-based doula care: Reduces low-risk C-sections/preterm births, improves patient experience, particularly effective among Medicaid-insured, rural, Black, and Native populations.
  • Group prenatal care: Reduces preterm births, enhances engagement.
  • Postpartum focus: Over half of maternal deaths occur 7 days to one year postpartum; main drivers are cardiovascular issues, mental health, and substance use.
• Policy Progress: Nearly all states now allow 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage.
• Integrated Care Models: Combining physical, behavioral, and substance use health improves outcomes in high-risk populations.
• Quotes:

  "Right now 35% of counties are considered maternity deserts... and in over a thousand counties there's not a single birthing facility available." (09:30)
  "For average risk pregnancies, midwifery lead models... associated with lower rates of C-section, preterm births, low birthweight infants." (10:18)
  "The majority of maternal deaths actually occur after delivery... Over half of them occur between seven days to a year postpartum." (12:22)

4. Data-Driven Quality and Outcome Metrics

(14:56 - 17:54)

• Centene’s Current Priorities:
  • Strong focus on high-integrity data and core perinatal metrics, including:
    • Low-risk C-section rates
    • Preterm birth and low birthweight rates
    • Severe maternal morbidity
    • Maternal and infant mortality rates
    • NICU admissions
  • Data sources: Claims, provider charts, and non-claims data
  • HEDIS metrics supplemented with other outcome measures
  • Shared accountability with partners
• Quote:

  "We track severe maternal morbidity rates because that gives us a signal around how effective has the prenatal care been... The ultimate metric, mortality rate—maternal and infant mortality rates." (16:18)

5. Comprehensive Initiatives and Innovations at Centene

(18:24 - 23:01)

• Holistic Maternal/Child Health Strategy:
  • Access, education, care coordination, provider and community partnerships
  • Use of technology (telehealth, remote patient monitoring)
  • Focused on eliminating physical and social barriers
• Highlighted Programs:
  • Start Smart for Baby: Early pregnancy risk stratification, education, and tailored support; pilots include "food is medicine," blood pressure cuffs, prenatal vitamins.
    • Quote:

      "We leverage data to identify pregnancy as early as possible, do risk stratification and then reach out to members in a very tailored way... in a whole person integrated physical, behavioral... care model." (18:56)

  • First Years of Life: Supports coverage and engagement for children birth to age 2.
  • Remote Monitoring Example: Silver Summit, Nevada—members use at-home BP monitoring with nursing support for hypertension.
  • Doula and Community Health Worker Integration: Technical assistance to CBOs for partnership and billing.
  • Collaboration with Community Health Centers: National three-year initiative for virtual care to improve BP control during pregnancy.

6. Dr. Chen’s Call to Action

(23:29 - End)

• Medicaid and Rural Health as “Canaries in the Coal Mine”: Solutions for rural maternal health can and should be scaled elsewhere.
• Peer Appeal: Encourages health plans and system leaders to adopt integrated, scalable approaches leveraging data and partnerships.
• Quote:

  "The challenges to maternal child health in rural settings is not unique, but the interventions that are successful there can oftentimes be scaled to less vulnerable settings." (23:37) "This is a time to double down on maternal child health because it is the future of our country..." (24:38)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "That's about 1 in 15 Americans." – Dr. Alice Chen (01:32)
• "It's both a bird's eye view across multiple markets, but then tailoring them to the specific nuances of any given community." – Dr. Alice Chen (02:53)
• "Pregnant women, new mothers, infants, children... more than 330,000 births, 30% of whom were high risk." – Dr. Alice Chen (04:37)
• "When you put together... higher risk profiles... plus maternity deserts and care fragmentation, you pretty logically get poor outcomes." – Dr. Alice Chen (09:52)
• "Nearly every state has expanded Medicaid eligibility for women 12 months postpartum. So that enables us... to engage them around blood pressure control, postpartum depression, substance use." – Dr. Alice Chen (12:56)
• "Taking a broader view than just HEDIS and making sure that we have complete, high integrity data... is core to how we think we're going to be able to create a shared accountability framework." – Dr. Alice Chen (17:24)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:50 — Dr. Chen’s background and current role
• 04:37 — Centene’s launch of the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice
• 09:06 — Maternal health crisis in rural America; defining “maternity deserts”
• 10:18 — Evidence-based care models overview: midwifery, doulas, group prenatal care
• 12:22 — Postpartum health risks and state Medicaid policy changes
• 14:56 — Centene’s key maternal-child health metrics and data strategies
• 18:24 — Overview of Centene’s broader maternal-child health initiatives
• 23:29 — Call to action for health system leaders

Final Thoughts

Dr. Chen emphasizes that tackling maternal and child health in Medicaid and rural contexts is not only urgent but sets the stage for broader health system improvements. She issues a strong call for industry collaboration, shared data, and evidence-based innovation, urging peers to “double down on maternal child health because it is the future of our country.”

Summary prepared for those seeking actionable insights and a thorough understanding of this episode’s core topics.