The Department of Health Care Finance’s Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) model, funded by an award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in January 2025, aims to advance innovative approaches to maternal health care to meet the needs of District residents enrolled in the Medicaid program. Over a 10-year period, DHCF and 14 other state Medicaid agencies will develop and implement payment and care delivery initiatives to support a whole-person approach to maternal health from the prenatal period up to one year after pregnancy.
Model Pillars:
TMaH provides funding to states to improve the delivery of maternal health care across three pillars:
- Access, Infrastructure, and Workforce: Maternal health educational resources and community partnerships to support greater access to valuable resources, such as midwives, doulas, and birth centers, as well as enhanced data collection and linkage to improve information sharing.
- Quality Improvement and Safety: Quality initiatives and protocols with the goal of making childbirth safer and improving overall experience for mother and baby.
- Whole-Person Care Delivery: Comprehensive and risk-appropriate screening and referral protocols and increased coverage of care options to ensure that every mother receives care that is customized to meet their specific needs.
TMaH Payment Model Timeline:
The TMaH Model is a 10-year initiative that consists of a 3-year Pre-Implementation Period and a 7-year Implementation Period to support value-based care delivery:
- 2025-2027: Pre-Implementation Period
- DHCF will work with CMS to prepare for implementing the TMaH Value-Based Payment (VBP) model by completing a variety of milestone activities across the three model pillars.
- Providers will receive funding to strengthen infrastructure capacity in areas such as patient safety, quality measure reporting, data integration, team-based care, access, and whole-person care.
- 2028-2035: Implementation Period
- The TMaH VBP model will launch in 2028.
- DHCF will continue to support TMaH providers in implementing the new VBP model through a range of quality improvement projects.
Get Involved:
To receive notifications of agency action related to maternal health or to request more information, please email DHCF at [email protected]
Maternal Health Advisory Group
The Maternal Health Advisory Group will serve as a forum for DHCF to partner and collaborate with beneficiaries, providers, and community members on the TMaH model. To join the distribution list for this group, please email [email protected].
2026 Maternal Health Advisory Group Meetings:
- Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 (11am – 12:15pm)
- Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 (11am – 12:15pm)
- Tuesday, March 17th, 2026 (11am – 12:15pm)
- Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 (11am – 12:15pm)
- Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 (11am – 12:15pm)
- Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 (11am – 12:15pm)
Past Meeting Materials:
2025 Maternal Health Advisory Group Meeting Materials
Acknowledgement of Support:
This program is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $17M with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.