For the first time in almost 15 years, a faculty member from Augusta University’s College of Nursing has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Blake McGee, PhD, was awarded an R03 grant of $176,331 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His research will focus on Medicaid’s expanded role in late postpartum maternal health.
In addition to this grant, McGee is participating in the fifth cohort of the Betty Irene Moore Fellows program, which supports nurse leaders and innovators. This program has provided the College of Nursing with $500,000 to fund McGee’s research and leadership development.
McGee serves as the prelicensure department chair and associate professor. He is working with colleagues from other Georgia universities on two studies that are being conducted at the same time.
“I began my career as an ER nurse and have always wanted to ask bigger questions about the challenges facing patients and how we might best address them as a society,” said McGee, who was recently selected for publication in Blood Advances, the American Society of Hematology’s journal. “As nursing scientists, we are uniquely poised to ask questions about healthcare policy, specifically from the vantage point of the impact that policy choices have on patients and their health outcomes.”
The United States has experienced increasing maternal mortality rates this century, with significant racial disparities. More than half of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period, and 23% happen more than six weeks after delivery. Medicaid expansion has been linked to lower mortality rates and reduced racial disparities by covering pregnant women in low-income households through postpartum day 60.
Traditionally, Medicaid eligibility for pregnancy ended 60 days after delivery, which left postpartum individuals at risk for gaps in care. McGee’s research seeks to identify changes in maternal health care use and outcomes between 60 days and one year after delivery that are associated with state Medicaid expansions between 2007 and 2019.
The research team will also study whether Medicaid expansion effects differ by maternal race or ethnicity and whether patient-reported access and quality of care influence these outcomes.
“My hope is that after the study we’ll have a better understanding of how health and health care use change for women in this crucial late postpartum period and how they may differ for people of different backgrounds,” said McGee. “Due to the sample design, findings will reliably inform optimal policy for postpartum coverage duration.”
McGee expects that this research will provide preliminary data for a future R01-funded study examining the impact of extending postpartum Medicaid under the American Rescue Plan.
As part of his fellowship, McGee is among 15 fellows nationwide in a curriculum co-led by the UC Davis School of Nursing and Graduate School of Management. A project coordinator from Augusta University’s School of Public Health will assist with the fellowship project, and McGee plans to involve graduate research assistants or recent alumni as associates.
One focus of McGee’s work is studying the Georgia Pathways to Coverage Program. He is among the few academic researchers in the country receiving funding to analyze this program.
“As a researcher, it is always a privilege to engage in topics that directly impact the current state of health care, and I’m honored to tackle projects that are so relevant to today’s health policy headlines,” he said.
Georgia’s program aims to extend Medicaid to low-income adults who participate in employment-related activities for at least 80 hours per month. By analyzing this initiative, McGee hopes his findings will help predict the impact of recent federal Medicaid changes and highlight differences between program participants and those who qualify but remain uninsured. The research could help Georgia improve enrollment strategies and evaluate whether the program reduces hospitalizations as expected.
“Our findings should be helpful to the state to better understand those enrolling, what their experience with increased access to care has been and how their health has improved after receiving coverage,” McGee said.
