News

How Good Is Arizona’s Maternal Healthcare?

The United States is confronted with a significant challenge in maternal health, holding the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, a trend that is on the rise and disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous women. In this context, Arizona’s situation is particularly concerning. According to the latest 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care by The Commonwealth Fund, Arizona is positioned at 44th place overall. Our state has shown commendable performance in managing preterm births, low-risk cesarean deliveries, and HIV testing among women aged 18-64. However, it falls short in providing a consistent healthcare source or routine checkups for women of childbearing age, ranking among the lowest. The data tells us we have a crisis to address - the maternal mortality rate in Arizona surpasses the national average, and the state’s infant mortality rate, previously better than average, has now deteriorated beyond the national rate.

In 2022, Children’s Action Alliance collaborated with key partners to secure a 12-month extension of AHCCCS postpartum coverage. This initiative ensures that new mothers can focus on their newborns without the added stress of health insurance transitions. Stay tuned for further updates and policy recommendations from us and our allies to enhance maternal and child health in Arizona. If you’re interested in more details or wish to participate in our maternal health stakeholder meetings, please reach out to Matt Jewett, our Health Policy Director, at mjewett@azchildren.org.

Read the full report here.

More News

TODAY: Support Free School Meals (HB2213 Hearing @ 2PM)

School meals address child hunger in Arizona, and House Bill 2213 Appropriation, free school meals will be heard in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, January 28th at 2 PM in Room HHR1!  This bill appropriates $3.8M  from the state general fund in fiscal year 2025-2026 to Arizona’s...

Protecting Immigrant and Mixed Status Families

Children’s Action Alliance works to build an Arizona where all children and families thrive. When children and families must live in fear just to obtain an education in school, our policymakers are failing.  On January 20, 2025, the federal government rescinded a policy that protected sensitive…

News

Building the Future Together: Meet Our New Team Members!

We are thrilled to announce our newest team members: Jennifer J. Burns, Lori Goodspeed, and Nathan von Gnechten.  Jennifer serves Children’s Action Alliance as our Director of Government Relations and Health Policy. Jennifer drives the health policy agenda and also provides leadership in our work…