Medicaid finances a substantial share of births in the U.S., covering approximately 41% of all births in 2023. Women of reproductive age make up nearly 1 in 4 Medicaid beneficiaries nationally, underscoring Medicaid’s role in maternal health.
ACHI analyzed Arkansas Department of Health birth records and data from the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative’s All-Payer Claims Database to determine the share of births financed by Medicaid (including the Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me program) statewide and at the county level in Arkansas in 2024, by the mothers’ counties of residence. According to the analysis, Medicaid financed 47% of births statewide, and that at the county level, the percentages of Medicaid-financed births ranged from a low of 29% in Benton County to a high of 79% in Hempstead County.
Additional analysis on maternal and infant health in Arkansas is available on our topic page.
