Medicaid announces new local funding to combat infant mortality

Ohio Medicaid announced earlier this month that it is investing $26.8 million statewide in community-based programs linking pregnant women, young mothers and their babies to health care, education and other services (Source: “Area groups receive $2.3 million to fight infant mortality,” Columbus Dispatch, June 7, 2016).

According to press releases from the department, Medicaid is funding nine projects in the Dayton area, six in the Canton area, six in Butler county, three in the Cleveland area, five in the Columbus Area, five in the Cincinnati area, four in the Toledo area and four in the Youngstown area.

Ohio has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the nation and the issue has gained considerable attention from state and local policymakers in recent years. The latest report from the Ohio Department of Health showed that for the first time since the state began keeping records in 1939, Ohio had fewer than 1,000 infant deaths in 2014, with 955. The rate for babies dying before their 1st birthdays fell to 6.8 per 1,000 births, down from 7.4 in 2013. Still, the rate of black babies dying nudged back up after two years of decline to 14.3, up from 13.8 the previous year and well above the national average of 11.2.