MATERNAL-NEWBORN SOLUTIONS Program Overview

How the Program Works | Facts You Need to Know | Outcomes

How the Program Works

Alere’s Maternal-Newborn Solutions  targets rising costs associated with antenatal and neonatal care by focusing on:

• Identification and stratification of modifiable maternal risk factors
• Education of all women regardless of risk
• Comprehensive obstetrical case management inclusive of reinforcement of the provider’s plan of care, education, support, and the coordination of cost-effective resources
• Reduction of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) length of stay (LOS) through proactive specialized case management, intensive education with family and caregivers, environmental assessment and discharge planning
• Coordination of care for those participants who indicate prior issues with depression as well as postpartum depression following their most recent birth
• 24/7 toll-free access to high-risk obstetrical nurses and/or neonatal nurses

As a result, program participants achieve pregnancy prolongation; reduction in antenatal hospitalization length of stay; improved birth weights (reduction in low birth weight); and reduction in NICU admissions, length of stay and post NICU discharge ER visits and readmissions.

Facts You Need to Know

Million-dollar preterm labor cases often involve preterm births that occur too early for the infant to leave the hospital due to complications during pregnancy. Preterm birth is the No. 1 obstetrical problem in the nation and the leading cause of neonatal death. As a result, between 25 and 40 percent of total health plan expenditures are maternity-related, driven primarily from preterm births and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) days.1

Every week of prolonged pregnancy matters; risks are lowered, outcomes improved and costs associated with preterm births significantly reduced. The average cost for infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is around $3,000 per day. While the average cost to an employer of a healthy baby born at full-term, or 40 weeks of gestation, is $2,830, the average cost for a premature baby is $41,6102 and if the baby is born at 26 weeks the cost can quickly rise to as much as $250,000.3

Overall, the cost of care for infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) accounts for 75 percent of all dollars spent for newborn care. NICU care is often necessary for infants delivered prematurely with low birth weights of 2,500 grams or less or very low birth weights of 1,500 grams or less due to issues related to immature respiratory, neurologic or gastrointestinal systems.

Based on a report by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, medical costs for the average very low birth weight infant is $79,000 versus $1,000 for the average normal newborn. A rise in twin and triplet deliveries, coupled with an increase in the number of women having children later in life, indirectly contributed to a 25 percent increase in preterm deliveries during the 1980s and 1990s, and the rates continue to climb ever higher.

Outcomes

For the highest-risk pregnancies, those already experiencing preterm labor, the Maternal-Newborn Solutions progam has been demonstrated to save nearly $14,500 per pregnancy, mostly from reduced NICU stays, thus relieving a significant part of the financial and emotional burden on families, employers and health plans. Last year, Alere saved some of its health plan clients anywhere from $77 to $315 per member per year, with maternity alone delivering ROIs of between $3 to $4 for each $1 spent.