Extending Postpartum Medicaid Coverage: State Pathways and Policy Impacts

PRINT

RESEARCH BRIEF | B.007.0222

February 2022

Download PDF

Medicaid covers nearly half of all births in the United States.1 As such, state actions to change aspects of the program, like the length of coverage during the postpartum period, can have a large effect on the lives of those enrolled in Medicaid. In response to ongoing concerns over rising pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity rates across the US and underscored by alarming racial disparities,2 Congress offered states a new option to extend Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Extending postpartum coverage of Medicaid for 12 months would substantially reduce the number of new parents who lose their health insurance after the postpartum coverage period and may lead to improved health and economic outcomes for these parents and their infants.3

Related

Cynthia Osborne discusses the work of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, which focuses on building the evidence base for effective state policies to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, and their families. Read the full article
Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center (PN-3) just issued its annual State Policy Roadmap, exploring ways that the states (and D.C.) can improve conditions so infants and toddlers can thrive. The Roadmap focuses on 12 solutions shown
Paid family leave is one of 12 evidence-based policies in our 2023 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap, which details states’ progress toward adopting and implementing policies that effectively improve child and family wellbeing . As of