DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop S2-26-12 
Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 
 
Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services 
 
CMCS Informational Bulletin 
  
 
DATE:  February 8, 2012 
     
FROM:  Cindy Mann, Director 
  Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification (CMCS) 
 
SUBJECT:   Maternal and Child Health Updates in Medicaid and CHIP 
 
This Informational Bulletin provides information to States and other stakeholders on the 
following topics: 
  Announcement of the Strong Start Initiative  
  Selection of a CMCS Dental Officer 
  Third Anniversary of CHIPRA: Annual Report Released 
 
Strong Start Initiative to Increase Healthy Deliveries and Reduce Preterm Births 
 
To help reduce the increasing number of preterm births in America and ensure more babies are 
born healthy, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced more than $40 million in grants 
to test ways to reverse that trend, as well as a public campaign to reduce early elective deliveries. 
 
More than half a million infants are born prematurely in America each year, a trend that has 
skyrocketed by 36 percent over the last 20 years.  Children born preterm require additional 
medical attention and often require early intervention services, special education and have 
conditions that may affect their productivity as adults. 
 
To tackle this problem, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will award grants to 
healthcare providers and coalitions to improve prenatal care to women covered by Medicaid. The 
grants will support the testing of enhanced prenatal care through several approaches under 
evaluation, including through group visits with other pregnant women, at birth centers providing 
case management, and at maternity care homes where pregnant women have expanded access to 
better coordinated, enhanced prenatal care.  
 
In addition, the Strong Start initiative will also focus on reducing early elective deliveries, which 
can lead to a variety of health problems for mothers and infants. According to research by 
organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the 
March of Dimes and others, elective deliveries before 39 weeks increase the risk of significant 
complications for mother and baby, as well as long-term health problems. For this component of 
the Strong Start campaign, CMS will work with key partners such as ACOG and the March of 
Dimes and hospitals across the country that have joined the Partnership for Patients  a national, 
  voluntary effort to improve safety and reduce avoidable harm, including obstetric harm that may 
stem from early elective deliveries. 
 
For more information on the Strong Start initiative, please visit: 
www.innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/strong-start.   
 
CMCS Chief Dental Officer 
 
Oral health care is an important part of health and well-being, especially for children enrolled in 
Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP.) To provide additional support 
and expertise on oral health in Medicaid and CHIP, we are pleased to announce the selection of a 
CMCS Chief Dental Officer  Dr. Lynn Mouden, DDS. He will join our growing oral health 
team on February 27.   
 
Dr. Mouden is currently serving as Director of Arkansas Office of Oral Health.   He also holds 
faculty appointments at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, the 
University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, and three faculty appointments at the University of 
Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He spent 16 years in private practice dentistry and 
eight years with the Missouri Department of Health before taking the position in Arkansas.  
 
Dr. Mouden is a Fellow of both the International and American College of Dentists, and has 
served in numerous dental leadership roles at the local, state and national level. He is a Past-
President of the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) and serves as the 
American Dental Association's National Spokesperson on family violence prevention.   Dr. 
Mouden earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas; his DDS, with 
distinction, from the University of Missouri at Kansas City; his Masters in Public Health from 
the University of North Carolina; and completed the US Department of Health and Human 
Services Primary Care Policy Fellowship in 1998.  He has received the Outstanding Service 
Award from ASTDD and most recently was awarded the Chief Dental Officers Exemplary 
Service Award from the US Public Health Service. 
 
Third CHIPRA Annual Report 
 
The Childrens Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) was signed into law 
on February 4, 2009, providing continued authority and funding for the Childrens Health 
Insurance Program and also adding new policy tools and financial incentives to assist States in 
reaching children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage but are not enrolled.   
 
To mark the anniversary of CHIPRA, CMCS released its third annual report on February 3, 
Connecting Kids to Coverage: Steady Growth, New Innovation, that charts our collective 
progress toward advancing childrens coverage across the country. The report is available at 
http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/chipraannualreport.pdf.  In addition to the gains in childrens 
coverage, the anniversary report highlights the new innovations being tested at the State, Federal, 
and community levels to bring the nation closer to ensuring that all children in America have 
high quality, affordable health coverage. The report includes national and state-level enrollment 
for children in Medicaid and CHIP. Happy anniversary!