Michelle Winokur, DrPH 

Postpartum coverage for new moms who lived in these locales ended after 60 days. 

All four extensions were approved under provisions from the American Rescue Plan. The Biden administration proposed the package to quicken the country’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The 2021 plan is most commonly known for its economic stimulus components, but it also made way for new health programs and expansions of others. 

Extended Eligibility and More Benefits 

States that elect to lengthen new moms’ eligibility via the American Rescue Plan must provide them full Medicaid benefits. This means new moms will also get health care services like inpatient hospital stays and doctor visits that are not directly related to their pregnancy or postpartum care covered. 

Currently, states are permitted to offer a narrower set of benefits to those who qualify for Medicaid when they become pregnant. It is called “pregnancy Medicaid.” Coverage can be limited to only those services that relate directly to prenatal care, labor, and delivery. 

Medicaid finances over 1.5 million births. That is about 42% of all births in America. 

More Extensions on the Way 

Until Congresses passes legislation requiring all Medicaid programs to provide one year of coverage postpartum – a policy pushed by the Biden administration – coverage extensions are handled on a case-by-case basis. 

Twelve-month postpartum extensions exist in California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Some of these extensions were provided waiver,” which allows Medicaid programs to provide coverage that varies in duration, location, or scope from the federal rules. 

Additional state extension requests are being reviewed. As many as 720,000 pregnant women and new moms could be eligible for expanded coverage if all states adopted this option. 

Advantages of Consistent Coverage 

Extended Medicaid coverage will likely reduce “churn” for new moms who move between being insured and uninsured. 

Data show that approximately one-third of women experience a coverage disruption between conception and postpartum. As expected, that can mean gaps in care, increased emergency department use, and worse health outcomes. 

Increasing access to and coverage of high-quality maternal health services is the first of five goals in the Biden administration’s recently released blueprint for addressing the maternal health crisis. The plan’s other goals are better data collection and diversifying the perinatal workforce. All are aimed at improving maternal health outcomes.