Greetings!

Back in the spring of 2007, NACPM received a small seed grant to explore a Federal initiative to secure Medicaid reimbursement for CPMs to increase low-income women's access to our services. At that time, CPMs had no Federal level experience or expertise, there was little knowledge among CPMs about the potential of a Federal initiative for Medicaid reimbursement, CPMs had no presence in Washington, DC, and were entirely unknown to legislators on Capitol Hill.

With that seed grant, NACPM developed a plan for promoting CPMs as respected members of the nation's maternity care workforce and, in the spring of 2009, invited our sister-organizations (CfM, ICTC, NARM, MEAC & MANA) to partner with us in the MAMA Campaign. Now, in 2010:

• CPMs have expert representation in Washington, D.C. with Billy Wynne and Health Policy Source, Inc.
• Key legislators in both the House of Representatives and the Senate support increased access to CPM services
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) views CPMs as a resource for information about CPMs and their care for women in homes and birth centers
• It is now the effect of the law of the land that CPMs offering services in birth centers must soon be reimbursed by Medicaid for their provider and birth center facility fees
• Many CPMs have become enthusiastic supporters of our Federal legislative efforts, contributing letters to their legislators and unprecedented dollars
• CPMs are closer than ever before to securing sponsors for our stand-alone Medicaid reimbursement bill in both the House and the Senate
• And, references to CPMs are included in no less than 5 new pieces of draft legislation under consideration in the House of Representatives, including two bills that have been recently introduced and 3 more that are under consideration!
  

Welcome to the NACPM Enews! Read on for the highlights, and then click through to the pdf for all the details.

• Maternity Care Reform Takes Hold In Congress: On July 21, 2010, Rep. Roybal-Allard (CA-34) introduced the MOMS for the 21st Century Act. NACPM is grateful to the Congresswoman for this sweeping legislation that aims at last to "promote optimal maternity outcomes by making evidence-based maternity care a national priority." MOMS for the 21st Century also represents the first time that CPMs are included in Federal legislation! CPMs are referenced throughout the bill, including in the Loan Repayments for Maternal Care Professions provision.

• NACPM Stands Up for Evidence-Based Practice: A recent meta-analysis by Wax, et al, published online on July 1, 2010 that purports to demonstrate significantly increased infant mortality with home birth over birth in the hospital provoked outraged rebuttal from many sources.NACPM's press release detailing the many disturbing mistakes and inconsistencies in this analysis was picked up by the New York Times and by Medscape, a widely consulted online resource for clinicians.

• NACPM Works in Coalition with ACNM and others: 

• NACPM was pleased to accept the invitation of the ACNM board and President Holly Kennedy to NACPM and MANA to collaborate on a joint Task Force on Normal Birth. A Delphi Study will produce a consensus position statement on Normal Birth, which will inform maternity care policy and further intra-professional discussions and future research.

• NACPM recently joined ACNM and 5 other organizations in a coalition to promote the passage of the MOMS for the 21st Century and other maternity care reform legislation being considered by Congress
  
  
• NACPM has become a Partner for Health as a member of the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC), a multi-disciplinary coalition committed to Federal action to ensure access for all Americans to the care of the full range of qualified conventional, complementary and alternative healthcare professionals, including CPMs.

• Listen First: Lessons in Overcoming Disparities: Gretchen Spicer, CPM and NACPM Board member, reports on the powerful MANA Region 4 Conference held in Wisconsin in July 2010. The organizers invited members of Mamas of Color Rising from Texas and Young Women United from New Mexico, and Jennie Joseph of Florida and came to understand how important it is to listen first to the voices of the women most affected by disparities in birth outcomes in order to address those disparities.

We hope to see many of you at the NACPM Annual Membership Meeting at the 2010
MANA Conference in Nashville in October! We look forward to hearing from you!

With warm regards,

Mary

Mary Lawlor, CPM
President, NACPM