HAP Introduces Healthy Start for Baby Program for Expectant Mothers

Program provides pre- and post-natal assistance for HAP Medicaid members

DETROIT – Health Alliance Plan recently launched a new initiative, HAP Healthy Start for Baby. The program is available to HAP’s Medicaid members who are expectant mothers and their babies, giving them educational tools and essential resources to enable them to thrive during pregnancy and through baby’s crucial first year.

Through the program, expectant mothers will be provided with educational resources to help them manage their prenatal health care requirements, including OB care coordination, referrals to appropriate specialists and other forms of assistance, as needed.  In addition, HAP care coordinators conduct an initial screening to determine the medical and support needs of each expectant mother and baby; they then create a personalized plan designed to result in healthy outcomes for both. 

Expectant mothers receive resources tailored specifically to their personal needs.  These include pre- and post-natal educational tools, transportation to their pre- and post-natal exams in a HAP-provided shuttle, nutritional support, support and resources for necessary baby supplies and education in obtaining needed vaccines.  The Healthy Start for Baby program also offers behavioral health resources to guide expectant mothers through postpartum challenges, issues with addiction, stress management and more. Social workers are available to expectant mothers throughout the pre- and post-natal period to offer additional support.

Early identification of pregnant Medicaid members and their personal risk factors is the key to better birth outcomes for mom and baby alike. 

“HAP is dedicated to providing our members with the best chance for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby,” said Irma O’Brien, RN, BSN, CCM, director of government programs, HAP.  “The Healthy Start for Baby program helps us identify pregnancy needs and allows case management to intervene to improve health and wellness through better care coordination and access to community resources. Our goal is to remove common barriers to care for these women to make sure they have what they need for a healthy delivery and to give their babies a healthy start in life.”

Through this program, HAP works with community partners to make sure expectant mothers and their newborns have access to essential items such as diapers, a car seat that meets safety standards, a breast pump and pre-natal vitamins. Expectant mothers are also incentivized with gift cards and/or supplies for their newborn, to attend post-partum and well-child visits to keep track of their own health and their baby’s overall health and progress toward meeting essential developmental milestones.

To help manage the multiple aspects of pregnancy, including maternal and infant health, the app – Text4Baby – will be offered with the program to help provide information to mothers through pregnancy, birth and baby’s first year. Through free text messages, Text4Baby provides tips and advice to help keep mothers and babies healthy. As a resource to monitor babies’ growth and development, a mother’s progress and their medical updates, Text4Baby offers interactive activities, such as quizzes to help engage expectant and new mothers. 

To learn more about HAP’s Healthy Start for Baby program and to determine if you are eligible, visit hap.org/medicaid.

About Health Alliance Plan
Health Alliance Plan (HAP) is a Michigan-based, nonprofit health plan that provides health coverage to individuals and companies of all sizes. For nearly 60 years, HAP has partnered with leading doctors and hospitals, employers and community organizations to enhance the health and well-being of the lives we touch. HAP offers a product portfolio with six distinct product lines: Group Insured Commercial, Individual, Medicare, Medicaid, Self-Funded and Network Leasing. HAP excels in delivering award-winning preventive services, disease management and wellness programs, and personalized customer service. For more information, visit hap.org.

Media Contacts:

Noelle Tanner
Health alliance Plan (HAP)
(248) 443-1076
ntanner@hap.org