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Text4baby Expanding Focus on Health Coverage

 

Press Release August 3, 2014

The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) Expanding Text4baby’s Focus on Health Care Access and Information


WASHINGTON D.C. – Text4baby, the nation’s largest and only free mobile health service that makes it easy for expecting and new moms to receive important health and safety information, has expanded its ability to share health care information and enrollment access. The program is committed to connecting pregnant women, mothers, and families to information about health care information and enrollment through SMS messaging. In seven states— California, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, and Texas—Text4baby will work with key leaders to connect women to Text4baby and evaluate the reach of enrolling families into the service and their subsequent access to health care coverage.

This expanded emphasis comes at an opportune time, as Affordable Care Act (ACA) advocacy organizations are focused on improving health reform implementation and disseminating benefits information. A two-year project supported through The Atlantic Philanthropies—a limited life foundation dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people—will strengthen Text4baby’s health coverage efforts in the above seven states by sharing advocacy group’s work with healthcare professionals and directly with Text4baby participants to help them stay apprised of new state-based health information and activities.

The project also expands upon Text4baby’s valuable partnership with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In August 2013, CMS awarded a contract to support the implementation of a customized version of Text4baby in California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Ohio in collaboration with these state’s Medicaid agencies. Under this three-year project, Text4baby partners deployed a customized version of Text4baby, which includes information about services and benefits, and Medicaid-specific resources available in the state.

 

“Atlantic’s support allows Text4baby to expand its reach to those families who need information the most and provides an opportunity to expand access to critical health access and care using this ubiquitous channel,” said HMHB CEO, Janice Frey-Angel.


Women who sign up for Text4baby by texting BABY (BEBE for Spanish) to 511411 receive three personalized text messages per week timed to their due date or baby’s birthday. The messages cover a broad range of topics including prenatal care, labor signs and symptoms, nutrition and breastfeeding, baby’s development, oral health, safety, urgent health alerts and product recalls, and more. Text4baby also includes interactive appointment and immunization reminders, educational videos and mobile webpages, and links to health insurance information and health-related services.
 
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About Text4baby
Text4baby is the nation’s only free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging. A free service of the nonprofit National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) and Founding Sponsor Johnson & Johnson, founding partners include Voxiva, The Wireless Foundation and Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company). Text4baby’s public-private partnership also includes over 1,200 national, state and local organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A special thank you goes to the carriers who support Text4baby so the service can be free to the end users. Those carriers are: AT&T, Bluegrass Cellular, Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile U.S.A. To learn more, please visit www.text4baby.org.

About The Atlantic Philanthropies
The Atlantic Philanthropies are dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic is a limited life foundation that will complete grantmaking in 2016. To learn more, please visit: www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.