Pay for Success Report: Interim Results
Per the terms of the Pay for Success Contract, South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Nurse-Family Partnership agreed to base success payments on four interim outcomes: coverage in low-income zip codes, child injury, healthy birth intervals, and preterm birth. These outcomes were chosen because they align with the State’s policy objectives, have high associated costs, translate to meaningful impact for families, and can be partially observed during the timeline of the contract. Table 1 summarizes the chosen outcomes and the thresholds at which payments would be triggered.
The Pay for Success project period concluded on April 1, 2021. The Pay for Success Report with interim results for the four outcomes was made available on this site on April 1, 2021. The interim results — based on partial samples — did not find statistically significant effects of participating in NFP for any of the four Pay for Success outcomes. Although the report found that one outcome (preterm birth) qualified for a potential success payment, no payments were made after netting out South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ 1915(b) Medicaid Waiver expenditures.
Table 1: Pay for Success Outcomes and Payment Thresholds
| PFS Outcome | Definitions* | Threshold where partial fixed payments begin | Threshold where complete fixed payments reached |
| Preterm Birth | Reduction in preterm births. | 13.5% reduction in preterm births | 15% reduction in preterm births |
| Short Birth Interval
|
Reduction in subsequent births within two years. | 18% reduction in subsequent births within 24 months | 20% reduction in subsequent births within 24 months |
| Number of Injuries | Reduction in emergency department visits and hospitalizations for acute child injury in the first two years of life. | 23.4% reduction in hospitalizations for acute injury within the first 24 months of life | 26% reduction in hospitalizations for acute injury within the first 24 months of life |
| Low-Income ZIP Code | Percentage of mothers whose primary residential address was within a Low-Income Zip Code at the time of enrollment. | 65% of mothers from low-income zip codes at the time of enrollment | |
* For a complete description of methods for the Pay for Success analysis please refer to the Pay for Success Analysis Plan.
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