Alabama mothers could see state-funded health insurance coverage extended from 60 days to 12 months postpartum beginning in October.
The state is starting a pilot project to extend the amount of time new mothers receive full insurance benefits from Medicaid. The $4 million effort was included in the state’s general fund budget for fiscal year 2023, which Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law in April.
The project awaits national approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but if authorized will take effect Oct. 1.
The Alabama Medicaid Agency declined to comment on the proposal before that authorization comes through. The project is an extension of current services rather than an expansion of the Medicaid program itself, a spokesperson said.
Currently, Medicaid-eligible patients who are pregnant qualify for full benefits during their pregnancy and throughout the postpartum time frame. If the extension is approved, the time frame would increase by nearly 10 months.
Nearly 50% of births in Alabama are covered by Medicaid, according to data from the March of Dimes and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A spokesperson for the Alabama Medicaid Agency wrote that pregnant patients and patients within 60 days postpartum are currently eligible for office visits and exams following delivery, as well as prescriptions for contraception.
Alabama’s proposed extension comes amid a push for Medicaid expansion nationwide. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Alabama is one of 12 U.S. states that have not adopted an expansion of Medicaid.
While Alabama is not offering an expansion of the program as a whole, an extension of services could make a big difference.
In Alabama’s only Maternal Mortality Review Committee report published so far, data from 2016 showed that 67% of mothers who died within a year of giving birth used Medicaid.
Of all patients who died from pregnancy-related or associated causes, two-thirds died between 43 days and one years after giving birth. The report also stated that around 70% of deaths were considered preventable.
Full Medicaid benefits also include access to mental health services with a diagnosis. In Alabama’s report, mental health disorders were determined to be a key contributor to both pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths.
