Press Releases: 2010

AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies Supports Text4baby Campaign

Four AmeriHealth Mercy Plans Promote Text4baby, a National Program That Aims to Use SMS Text Message Technology to Improve Health of Moms and Babies

August 13, 2010
Philadelphia, PA – The AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies, one of the leading organizations of Medicaid managed care plans and related businesses in the United States, is supporting the text4baby service through its regional plans nationwide. Text4baby is a free, mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health by providing pregnant women and new moms with detailed health tips, via SMS text messages, to assist them in caring for themselves and their children. The program has nearly 35,000 enrollees nationally.

AmeriHealth Mercy currently has three plans participating in the program: Keystone Mercy Health Plan in Southeastern Pennsylvania; AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania; and Select Health of South Carolina, Inc.

Women sign up for the free service by texting “BABY” (or “BEBE,” in Spanish) to 511411. Each woman receives three, SMS text messages every week, timed to their due date or baby’s age, up to the child’s first birthday. Messages include subject matter geared toward nutrition, immunizations, labor and delivery, car seat safety, breastfeeding and mental health.

AmeriHealth Mercy, through its support of text4baby, plans to promote the initiative among the participants of its other prenatal programs. These programs are devoted to educating pregnant women and new moms on health information and available services.

“We are proud to offer this innovative program to our members and expectant new mothers at all of our plans nationwide,” said Jay Feldstein, DO, Regional President, Northeast, and Corporate Chief Medical Officer, AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies. “Our goal is to bring the best possible health care services to all of our members, including mother and baby. By offering regular health tips and child development information between prenatal visits, we’re helping ensure that proper health care starts early and continues throughout the pregnancy.”

Similar programs use SMS text messaging technology to provide information to diabetics, smokers and to people with weight-management issues. Under each category, SMS technology has improved the health of its participants. For example, 28 percent of smokers receiving SMS messages quit smoking, as compared to 13 percent of the control group (A. Rogers et. al., “Do u smoke after txt?,” Tobacco Control 2005).