Help MN Birth Centers Thrive: Amend Legislation

The Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Birth Centers is an industry group focused on advocating for better conditions for birth centers in the state of MN. Our chapter includes members from freestanding birth center practices, hospitals, universities, and other organizations interested in the work of birth centers in MN.

Birth centers first became licensed in MN in 2010. Our licensure regulations for freestanding birth centers are held up as a model to be replicated nationally and we’re proud to live in a state where such favorable regulations exist that are truly some of the best in class. However, problems remain related to the payment model for birth centers that have prevented birth centers from being able to thrive.

The Problem

When the birth center law was first passed, birth center advocates and lawmakers thought they had created language that allowed for payments for facility services for the birthing person and the baby. However, in about 2015 a procedural committee that works closely with state Medicaid held closed door meetings about birth center facility payment. Without engaging meaningfully with birth centers or notifying them of the change, DHS decided to stop paying for newborn facility services. Once medical assistance stopped paying for this service the managed care organizations shortly followed suit, and in the course of a few months birth centers lost a significant source of revenue.

In addition, facility payments for the birthing person were always unsustainably low creating impossible math for how to serve people insured through Medical Assistance. Despite birth centers achieving some of the best outcomes in the state of MN and reducing health disparities most centers are struggling to keep their doors open.

Our Goal

Through the MN Chapter of AABC birth centers are now working together with the MN DHS to amend the birth center legislation. These changes will create more accurate language that better reflects how birth centers should be paid for their facility services. When birth centers are paid appropriately for their services they are able to thrive and grow, allowing for more access to the best-on-class model of care that every Minnesotan deserves to have as an option.