Vaginal Deliveries Outnumbered C-sections by
About Two to One Nationally from 2020 to 2023
During That Same Period, Several Nonphysician
Specialties Increased in Their Share of Claim Lines on the Day of
Delivery, Including Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist,
Certified Nurse-Midwife and Nurse Practitioner
NEW
YORK, Sept. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- From 2020 to
2023, mental health disorders in pregnant women rose 52.9 percent
and substance use disorders in pregnant women increased 8.2
percent. During that same period, potential complications of
pregnancy and delivery1 rose 19.8 percent. These
and other findings are reported in a FAIR Health white paper
released today: Giving Birth in the
United States: A Study of Commercial Claims.
In this report, FAIR Health uses its repository of over 47
billion commercial healthcare claim records and builds on its free,
interactive Cost of Giving Birth Tracker to examine various aspects
of giving birth in the United
States, including age, co-occurring conditions, birth rate,
delivery types, provider specialties and costs. The key findings
include the following:
- The average age of mothers at delivery rose one percent (0.3
years) from 31.4 in 2020 to 31.7 in 2023.
- The most common potentially complicating condition of pregnancy
and delivery in 2023 was obesity, which occurred in 19.7 percent of
deliveries.
- Potential complications of pregnancy and delivery tended to
rise with age, from 16.7 percent of patients under age 18 to 43.3
percent of patients aged 40 and over in 2023. Mental health
disorders, however, were most common in mothers under age 18, and
substance use disorders were most common in mothers under age
25.
- From 2020 to 2023, changes in birth rate (defined for this
study as the percentage of women receiving medical services who
gave birth in a given year) varied by state, from an increase of
65.6 percent in Rhode Island (from
1.8 percent of women receiving medical services in 2020 to 3.0
percent in 2023) to a decrease of 31.9 percent in West Virginia (from 3.5 percent in 2020 to 2.4
percent in 2023). Overall, the birth rate rose in 21 states and
fell in 30 (for a total of 50 states plus the District of Columbia).
- Vaginal deliveries outnumbered C-sections by about two to one
nationally from 2020 to 2023, with significant regional variation.
Nationally, the percentage of vaginal deliveries fell 1.8 percent
(1.2 percentage points) from 66.7 percent in 2020 to 65.5 percent
in 2023. On a state-by-state basis, vaginal deliveries varied from
59.7 percent of deliveries in Mississippi to 76.7 percent in South Dakota.
- From 2020 to 2023, several nonphysician specialties grew in
their share of claim lines in the prenatal period, including nurse
practitioner (31.2 percent increase), certified nurse-midwife (32.9
percent), social worker (25.2 percent) and physician assistant
(21.0 percent). Several nonphysician specialties also increased in
their share of claim lines on the day of delivery, including
certified registered nurse anesthetist (12.6 percent increase),
certified nurse-midwife (41.2 percent) and nurse practitioner (29.6
percent).
- In each year from 2020 to 2023, the median total allowed amount
for all medical services for patients with potential complications
of pregnancy and delivery was 24 percent or more higher than the
median total allowed amount for patients with no potential
complications.2 For example, the median total
allowed amount in 2023 for patients with potential complications
was $20,666 compared to $16,728 for patients with no potential
complications.
- Throughout the period 2020 to 2023, the median total allowed
amount for all medical services for patients giving birth increased
as age increased. Most notably, costs were 12 to 14 percent higher
for the 40-44 age group compared to the 35-39 age group in each
year from 2020 to 2023.
- The median total allowed amount for all medical services
performed for women who gave birth without potential complications
in 2022 ranged from 915 percent to 1,109 percent higher than the
median for women who received medical services but neither gave
birth nor had an abortion or ectopic pregnancy, depending on the
age group, when evaluating medical services for patients during a
similar time frame.
FAIR Health President Robin
Gelburd stated: "The findings in this report have
implications for stakeholders across the healthcare spectrum,
especially women who are pregnant or in the postpartum period. The
study is also important for the providers who care for these
patients, as well as payors and policy makers. In addition, we hope
that these findings will be starting points for further research on
giving birth in the United
States."
For the complete white paper, click here.
Follow us on X @FAIRHealth
About FAIR Health
FAIR Health is a national,
independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public
charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. It is
dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health
insurance information through data products, consumer resources and
health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's
largest collection of commercial healthcare claims data, which
includes over 47 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of
over 3 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its
commercial data and data products—including benchmark modules, data
visualizations, custom analytics and market indices—to commercial
insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and
healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others.
Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data
representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in
traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D, which accounts for a
separate collection of over 48 billion claim records; FAIR Health
includes among the commercial claims data in its database, data on
Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful
analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and
commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other
authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing
protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification
and achieved AICPA SOC 2 Type 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous
data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to
the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have
been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country
and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety
of state health programs, including workers' compensation and
personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve
as an official reference point in support of certain state balance
billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise
out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its
database to power a free consumer website available in English and
Spanish, which enables consumers to estimate and plan for their
healthcare expenditures and offers a rich educational platform on
health insurance. An English/Spanish mobile app offers the same
educational platform in a concise format and links to the cost
estimation tools. The website has been honored by the White House
Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker,
Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal
Finance. For more information on FAIR Health, visit
fairhealth.org.
Contact:
Rachel
Kent
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
FAIR Health
646-396-0795
rkent@fairhealth.org
1 As used in this white paper, a "potential
complication" is a condition that co-occurred with pregnancy or
delivery and that may have complicated them, but that could not be
determined to have done so based on claims data only.
2 An allowed amount is the total fee negotiated
between an insurance plan and a provider for an in-network service,
including both the portion to be paid by the plan member and the
portion to be paid by the plan.
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SOURCE FAIR Health