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Evaluation Design State of Wyoming Pregnant by Choice, Family Planning Waiver Program the identified women. This process attempts to reach women prior to their anticipated due date and give her as much time as possible to apply before the sixty (60) day postpartum period ends. Renewals are sent out forty-five (45) days prior to the end of the benefit period and beneficiaries are able to return the form they receive through the mail or call and indicate they would like to renew their benefits. If they should fail to complete the renewal process, they are sent a closure notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to benefit termination. Once benefits have ended, the beneficiary is not able to reapply for coverage. The Wyoming Eligibility Customer Service Center is proactive in sending renewals and initial interest letters in order to give women enough time to elect for PBC coverage or renew benefits.

During the last quarter of DY11 and the first quarter of DY12, before the PHE, Wyoming Medicaid had recently partnered with Optum, who is contracted to support the health of Wyoming Medicaid’s population through several initiatives, including actively promoting the Pregnant by Choice Program through outreach to providers (disseminating materials: brochures and posters) as well as direct outreach to women within sixty (60) days postpartum. During an outreach, Optum’s clinicians are checking in on mom and baby, administering a depression screening (if mom grants permission), discussing healthcare options and promoting the Pregnant by Choice Program. Once a woman’s sixty (60) postpartum days end on the Pregnant Women Program, they will not have full Medicaid benefits any longer. This outreach ensures that these women who are about to transition off full benefits are aware that the Pregnant by Choice Program exists as an option. Optum triages any woman who has a positive postpartum depression screening until her full Medicaid benefits terminate and will make sure she has the contact information for mental health providers in her community who operate on a sliding scale fee so she can continue to obtain support for her mental health needs. However, when the PHE was declared, those clients who normally would have transitioned off or termed from their respective eligibility programs, were kept on their plan. Federal provisions required that States keep clients enrolled through the end of the month when the PHE ends. Once the end of the PHE is announced (targeted to expire April 16, 2022, as I write this in DY14), Optum will change their approach and revert back to continuing to check on mom and baby, perform the depression screening (if mom grants permission), and will promote the Pregnant by Choice Program again.

Since the Wyoming Department of Health anticipates the end of the PHE to occur in April 2022, Optum will have about two (2) months to outreach and promote the Pregnant by Choice Program before their contract ends effective July 1, 2022. At that point, these Pregnant by Choice outreach activities will shift to nurses contracted under a new vendor, Telligen, and will be continued.

In addition to Optum’s outreach and promotion of the Pregnant by Choice Program, Wyoming Medicaid recently began working on a new text-based initiative called, Project Juno, with a company named, Syllable. Project Juno targets high risk pregnant women with screenings and educational messages. If they agree to participate in the program, they would be prompted to answer an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) screening,