Findings from Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in the Area of Managed Care Described (Timing of Medicaid Enrollment during Pregnancy and Associated Infant Outcomes): Managed Care

2026 AUG 06 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news originating from Lebanon, New Hampshire, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “To describe the timing of Medicaid enrollment during pregnancy among Medicaid-insured women in Texas, examine patterns of healthcare utilization following enrollment, and evaluate associations between enrollment timing and infant outcomes. Retrospective cohort study of 913,229 deliveries to women aged 15-44 years enrolled in Texas Medicaid between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2014.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, “Women were classified into five mutually exclusive groups based on timing of first Medicaid enrollment: before conception, first, second, or third trimester, or delivery hospitalization. We evaluated associations between enrollment timing and cesarean delivery, preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age (SGA), and neonatal mortality using Poisson regression with robust standard errors. Overall, 26.4% (n=238,689) of women enrolled in Medicaid before conception, 40.0% (n=364,905) during the first trimester, 14.3% (n=130,568) during the second trimester, 6.1% (n=56,090) during the third trimester, and 13.5% (n=122,977) at delivery. Later enrollment was more common among Hispanic and foreign-born women and among those with a lower mean obstetric comorbidity index. Most women had their first Medicaid-covered healthcare encounter in the same trimester as enrollment, primarily in ambulatory care settings. In adjusted analyses, enrollment before conception was associated with a higher risk of preterm birth (aRR 1.17; 95% CI,1.15-1.18) relative to first-trimester enrollment. Second- and third-trimester enrollment were associated with higher risks of SGA (aRR 1.15 [95% CI,1.12-1.18] and 1.18 [95% CI,1.13-1.22], respectively). Medicaid enrollment timing varied across demographic groups and was associated with differences in healthcare utilization and selected infant outcomes.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Improving maternal and infant health may require not only timely coverage but also efforts to address structural barriers to Medicaid enrollment and prenatal care access.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Timing of Medicaid Enrollment during Pregnancy and Associated Infant Outcomes. Academic Pediatrics, 2026:103419. Academic Pediatrics can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Academic Pediatrics - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/academic-pediatrics/)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Patience Toyin-Thomas, Dept. of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire. Additional authors for this research include Christopher G. Leggett, David C. Goodman and JoAnna K. Leyenaar.

The publisher’s contact information for the journal Academic Pediatrics is: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA.

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