Olivia Walton: Paid leave, tax credits, child care top priorities to continue maternal health gains

Olivia Walton, a champion for improving maternal health in Arkansas, is promoting recent Arkansas changes nationally as part of an effort to continue more improvements in aiding mothers’ and infants’ health.

Appearing on this week’s Talk Business & Politics TV program, Walton discussed a recent op-ed she penned for USA Today that highlighted Arkansas gains from the legislative session and touted additional solutions to continue progress.

“Governor Sanders gets a huge amount of credit for really taking this issue on and showing incredible leadership. She’s actually outpacing other conservative states leading with pro-family policies. So I wanted to write about some of the things that I think we’re actually getting right here in Arkansas, to shine a light on that. And, also talk about what I think we still have to focus on, which is expanding paid leave, the child tax credit, and also making childcare more affordable,” said Walton.

In the most recent session that ended in early May, state lawmakers approved the “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies” legislative package, which will implement a number of changes to state policy aimed at improving Arkansas’ woeful maternal health statistics.

The new law will allow for presumptive Medicaid eligibility for likely candidates; unbundling of payments throughout the pregnancy period so more doctors can see patients more quickly; reimbursement pathways for doulas and community health workers; and higher reimbursement rates for Medicaid deliveries.

Also last month, Walton announced at a Heartland Forward summit the creation of the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice as a complement to state efforts. The center will work alongside more than 120 stakeholders, acting as a convener and technical leader to support initiatives such as reopening labor and delivery units through midwifery-led care and addressing regulatory, staffing and reimbursement challenges.

“I think this could really be transformational,” said Walton. “We got the idea out of New Jersey’s playbook. Their group is called ‘Nurture New Jersey.’ I don’t know if you know this, but New Jersey has gone in seven years from 48th, 47th in maternal mortality to 28th. Amazing progress. It’s why I always say I like working on maternal health. We know what works, we’re just not doing it. This center is going to dig deeply into what works, get the right people in the room, share the solutions and help figure out what it actually takes to get them spread across the heartland and take root.”

NEXT FOCUS
Walton outlined three areas she plans to spend time advocating to continue progress on improving Arkansas’ maternal health standing.

She is supporting broader paid leave for workers, a federal child care tax credit, and more investment in child care services, which are critical to women and families returning to the workforce after the birth of a child. In Arkansas, child care costs an average of $17,000 annually.

“It’s really hard. As a mom, you’ve got to feel really good about where you’re leaving your kids if you’re going to leave them and go back to work,” she said. “I have the luxury of having a choice. For most mothers, this is not a choice. Seventy-five percent of mothers of children under five are working and need to go back to work. So for childcare, there is no silver bullet. There is a playbook though, and I think the three things we should focus on here in Arkansas and nationally are decreasing regulation where it’s burdensome, increasing and rewarding innovation, and working with businesses and communities to help them figure out what solutions work best for them.”

While child care solutions are complicated and complex from a financial and policy standpoint, paid leave is more straightforward. Walton said she is likely to turn immediate attention to this effort after the state has extended paid leave for state employees and school teachers.

“We’re going to double down on paid leave,” said Walton. “It’s a no brainer. And now that we’ve got it for teachers, I think nurses need it next. I think we’re going to go for maternity leave. First paid leave for all parents is wonderful, but I think we’re going for maternity leave and think about these pragmatic wins we can get and build a broader coalition around who actually supports this and understands what a vital issue this is for recruitment, retention, and to help stabilize working families.”

You can watch her full interview in the video below.