2026 Maternal Mental Health State Report Cards
Key Dates
What Happened
On May 27, 2026, the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, in collaboration with the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, released its fourth annual Maternal Mental Health State Report Cards. The U.S. earned an overall grade of C (up slightly from C- in 2025). Ten states earned Bs (six for the first time: DC, IL, IN, LA, MA, NY), 26 states earned Cs, and 15 earned Ds. No state earned an A, and for the first time no state earned an F (Mississippi and Alabama, the two 2025 Fs, both rose to Ds). The 2026 edition added a new fourth domain, "Parental Support," scoring states on paid leave and access to affordable childcare. The U.S. earned the equivalent of an F in that domain: 31 states scored under one star (out of five) and Maine led at 3.5 stars.
Who It Affects
Maternal mental health vendors — screening, teletherapy, collaborative-care, perinatal psychiatry, and digital-therapeutic companies — that sell against a state-by-state coverage and reimbursement backdrop. The report scores 27 measures across four domains (Screening/Detection, Providers and Treatment, Policy and Payment, and the new Parental Support), so the "Policy and Payment" axis maps directly onto where Medicaid and commercial reimbursement for maternal behavioral health is strongest or weakest. Roughly one in five U.S. mothers experiences a maternal mental health condition, and untreated maternal mental health disorders are estimated to cost the U.S. about $14.2 billion annually.
Business Implications
This is a benchmark, not a regulation, but it is the most widely cited state-level scorecard in the category and it shapes where advocates, payers, and state Medicaid agencies focus next. The incremental grade improvement (and the six new B states) signals real, if slow, expansion of maternal behavioral health infrastructure that vendors can sell into. The standout signal for PHD is the new Parental Support domain: by surfacing paid leave and childcare as maternal mental health determinants and grading the U.S. an F, the Policy Center is widening the maternal mental health frame from clinical services toward family economic supports. That reframing is where future state policy and employer-benefit demand is likely to migrate. The report is the kind of recurring, datable artifact that anchors a maternal mental health roundup item and supports the maternal-policy thread now accreting in the vault.
Sources
- GW Milken Institute SPH press release (May 27, 2026)
- Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health: 2026 Report Cards
- Interactive state report cards
- Axios coverage (May 28, 2026)