The next phase of maternal health in Arkansas

As a physician and legislator, I’ve learned that statewide health progress rarely comes from a single policy win. Instead, it’s an outcome of sustained focus, disciplined implementation and common-sense systems.

That’s why 2025 was such a pivotal year for maternal health in Arkansas — and why 2026 must be the year we follow through.

During the last Regular Session, my legislative colleagues and I worked with Gov. Sarah Sanders to pass meaningful, bipartisan reforms under the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act. We modernized reimbursement for maternity care, expanded access to doulas and community health workers, strengthened postpartum mental health screenings, and continued to build a better understanding of maternal mortality and morbidity through improved data and review.

These policy changes laid the groundwork for better health outcomes. Laying the groundwork is a great start, but true success can only be measured by how we build on that foundation.

I was reminded of that reality during the Heartland Forward Maternal Health Stakeholder Convening late last year. Around the table, providers, hospital leaders, advocates and policymakers all acknowledged the same truth: Arkansas has made progress, but the hardest work lies ahead. Implementation is where good policy either delivers or quietly stalls.

That’s where the Maternal Outcomes Management System (MOMS) comes in as a next step.

During the 2025 session, I was proud to pass legislation establishing the framework for MOMS within the Arkansas Department of Health. MOMS is a statewide system of maternal health care, modeled on something Arkansans already understand and trust: our trauma system.

More than a decade ago, Arkansas faced a sobering reality. We had one of the nation’s highest trauma death rates, and many of those deaths were preventable. In response to that public health crisis, we built a system of trauma care that designated hospitals based on capability, streamlined patient transfers through a centralized call center, formalized ongoing education and peer review and incentivized hospitals through performance-based grants. Within a few years, preventable trauma deaths plummeted.

MOMS applies that same proven logic to maternal health.

Under this system, birthing hospitals would be designated based on their level of maternal care. A centralized call center would help emergency departments and providers quickly route pregnant or delivering patients to the most appropriate facility. Hospitals would participate in structured peer review, clinician and community education and data-driven quality improvement. MOMS would also establish a postpartum support hotline to connect mothers with follow-up resources.

The MOMS framework includes a grant program that prioritizes hospitals with the fewest resources, allowing them to invest in care coordination, staff training and quality improvements. These grants aren’t handouts; they’re performance-based investments tied to measurable outcomes. For rural hospitals, this approach opens the door for opportunity and better care.

From a business perspective, the case is clear. Preventable maternal complications and deaths carry enormous downstream costs to employers, health systems, families and communities. Keeping moms healthy maintains the workforce, stabilizes rural hospitals and family systems and reduces long-term health care spending. It’s the right and smart thing to do.

The framework for MOMS is now law. What comes next — and what I’m eager to see — is bringing that framework to life through sustainable funding and thoughtful implementation.

I’m hopeful because Arkansas has faced a trauma mortality crisis in the past and has shown it can build systems that save lives. I’m excited to see what’s possible when we apply a proven approach to maternal health, and I’m eager to work with my colleagues and hospital leaders to make MOMS a reality.

Together, we can make Arkansas a national leader in maternal health and one of the most pro-family states in the nation.

Editor’s note: Rep. Lee Johnson, R-Greenwood, is a physician who is serving his fourth term in the Arkansas House of Representatives. The opinions expressed are those of the author.