Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas recognizes local facilities for higher-quality (and lower-cost) maternity care

Topeka, Kansas (Jan. 17, 2024) – A number of local hospitals have been designated as Blue Distinction^® Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS) as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

"The provider and patient experience is powerful and we are proud that these provider partners have put in the work to ensure their patients have this level of care," said Matt All, President/CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. "Each facility recognized as a Blue Distinction Center is meeting rigorous quality metrics in all phases of their maternity care programs and, in doing so, delivering better care for our members and all Kansans.”

Based on data from the current designation cycle, facilities designated under the Maternity Care program demonstrate higher-quality care compared to non-Blue Distinction Center facilities, with overall average rates of 26% lower episiotomies, 60% fewer elective deliveries and 17% lower cesarean births—all of which point to healthier outcomes for patients. Facilities that meet the program’s selection criteria are eligible for designation at one of two levels:

Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) arefacilities that deliver quality care, safely and effectively. They include:
Amberwell Atchison
University of Kansas Health System – St. Francis (Topeka)

Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) are facilities that deliver quality care, safely and effectively, in addition to demonstrating more affordable care. BDC+ designated facilities also exhibit an average savings of 21% for maternity care, according to a recent program survey. They include:
Ascension Via Christi Hospital Manhattan, Inc.
Ascension Via Christi Hospital Pittsburg, Inc.
Ascension Via Christi Hospitals Wichita, Inc.
Hays Medical Center
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, Inc. 
Labette County Medical Center (Parsons)
Lawrence Memorial Hospital 
Newman Regional Health (Emporia)
Salina Regional Health Center, Inc. 
Southwest Medical Center (Liberal)
Stormont Vail Hospital (Topeka)

The Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program plays a key role in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA) National Health Equity Strategy aimed at reducing racial health disparities across the care spectrum and improving patient outcomes for all Americans.

Commitment to Maternity Care:

Severe maternal morbidity rates are on the rise among all pregnant women in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate than any developed country. Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. These disparities are unacceptable and demand immediate attention.

BCBSA is committed to reducing racial disparities in maternal health and has executed a multi-year National Health Equity Strategy to achieve this goal. To align with this strategy, the Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program enhanced its quality and measurement standards to recognize higher-quality facilities that have taken action to respond effectively to obstetric emergencies, reduce racial disparities, and improve maternal health outcomes.

The Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program’s selection criteria was devised to close clinical care gaps and reduce inequities that persist throughout the maternal care spectrum. The selection criteria includes components of BCBSA’s Maternal Health Equity Actions, which dismantle the cultural, operational and structural barriers that created inequities in maternal care.

To be designated under this program, each applicant facility was evaluated on a combination of objective data on patient outcomes as well as the practices implemented to reduce racial disparities and improve maternal health outcomes, such as:

• Using evidence-based best practices to respond effectively to obstetric emergencies
• Offering unconscious bias training
• Participating in the regional Perinatal Quality Collaborative
• Having doula support available on the maternity care team
• Collecting race, ethnicity and language data
• Having a program dedicated to quality improvements in maternal care
• Running drills and simulations to prepare providers are prepared to deal with a range of obstetric emergencies
• Demonstrating health outcomes that exceed the selection criteria from our program’s previous evaluation cycle

To further drive improvements to maternal care, BCBSA will be working closely with BCBSKS to encourage facilities to implement performance improvement activities that will enhance their maternity care programs and improve patient outcomes.

“It is time to raise the bar. Everyone deserves to have higher-quality care at every stage of their pregnancy,” said Erin Barney, BCBSA’s vice president of Network Solutions. “Facilities that earned a Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care designation have proven that they deliver higher-quality maternity care and are committed to reducing maternal health disparities that are often treatable and preventable. Closing clinical care gaps is a joint effort, and we are proud to recognize facilities that put insights into action, creating a more equitable system of health for all.”

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care at lower costs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacement, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery, and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver.

For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated providers, visit our website.

All companies and trademarks listed above are the property of their respective owners and used for identification purposes only and are in no way associated or affiliated with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Use of these trademarks does not imply endorsement. The Blue Cross^® and Blue Shield^® names and symbols and Blue Distinction^® are registered trademarks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

For more than 80 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while quickly and accurately processing claims; fairly administering benefit plans and contracts; offering programs, services and tools to help members improve or maintain their health; and operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.

About the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health IndexSM. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com.

About Blue Distinction Centers

Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for noncovered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.