Does Coordinated Postpartum Care Influence Costs?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Economics
• Maternal and Child Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Postpartum care is crucial for maternal and infant well-being.
• Midwife-led coordinated care models aim to improve care quality and efficiency.
• Understanding the economic impact of such models is essential for healthcare policy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a midwife-led coordinated care model on health insurance costs for postpartum care.
• To compare costs before and after model implementation in an intervention canton.
• To assess costs against control cantons without the model.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of health insurance claims data from the Helsana group in Switzerland.
• Comparison of monthly post-discharge costs for mothers and newborns before and after model introduction (n=144 vs. n=92).
• Cross-sectional comparison with five control cantons (n=7,767).

Main Results:

• Average monthly postpartum costs for mothers remained unchanged despite increased midwife utilization (72% to 80%).
• No significant cost difference was observed between the intervention canton and control cantons for mothers.
• Neonatal costs in the first month post-discharge were lower in the intervention phase (-114 CHF).

Conclusions:

• The introduction of a coordinated postpartum care model led to reduced initial healthcare costs for neonates.
• Maternal postpartum care costs remained stable, even with increased midwife involvement.
• This model shows potential for cost savings in early infant care.