Mississippi backs 1 year of postpartum Medicaid for new moms

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) —

Low-income new moms in Mississippi will likely be eligible for a full yr of Medicaid well being protection underneath a invoice handed Tuesday by the state Legislature.

The bipartisan transfer is the fruits of a two-year effort to persuade a majority of the Republican-controlled Home to offer longer postpartum protection in one of many poorest states within the U.S. Republican proponents stated change was a obligatory after the U.S. Supreme Courtroom upended abortion rights nationwide by overturning Roe v. Wade final yr utilizing the case Dobbs v. Jackson Ladies’s Well being Group, which arose from Mississippi.

Republican Rep. Missy McGee stated girls’s well being points shouldn’t be “political chess items.”

“This displays a coverage and legislative effort that has been ongoing for a number of years now,” McGee stated. “And this yr, as we discover ourselves in a post-Dobbs period, the necessity exists to each strengthen the social security internet and modernize our method for serving to our state’s most weak residents.”

Gov. Tate Reeves, who introduced his assist for the coverage on Feb. 26 after avoiding taking a public place for months, has promised to signal the invoice. The governor is in search of reelection and Democrats have hammered his unwillingness to increase postpartum Medicaid protection past the 60 days allowed earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic. The matter was much less urgent till now as a result of emergency Medicaid protection prolonged by federal mandate is ending in Could.

Reeves stated longer Medicaid protection after start is a part of the state’s “new pro-life agenda.”

The day after Reeves’ announcement, Home Speaker Philip Gunn stated he would permit the Home Medicaid Committee to think about the laws.

State senators voted for the coverage final yr, however it failed within the Home underneath Gunn’s opposition. The speaker stated he didn’t need to advance something that could be seen as a full growth Medicaid. The Senate handed the coverage once more this yr.

Reeves, Gunn and lots of different Mississippi Republicans stay against permitting Medicaid protection for folks working low-wage jobs that don’t present medical health insurance. Mississippi was amongst 11 states that for years declined to broaden Medicaid underneath the Reasonably priced Care Act signed into regulation in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama. The problem is being extensively revisited as pandemic-era protections expire.

On Tuesday, McGee was cautious to say the invoice solely extends postpartum protection for 12 months; it doesn’t absolutely broaden Medicaid.

The invoice handed 89-29, with all of the opposition coming from Republicans. Gunn, who’s serving his ultimate session within the Legislature, voted “no.”

“These are the sorts of victories which can be attainable after we come collectively and use our collective voice to combat for the insurance policies that profit us, and refuse to let politicians use these insurance policies to drive a deeper wedge between us,” Home Minority Chief Robert Johnson and Senate Minority Chief Derrick Simmons stated in a joint assertion.

Medicaid pays for about 60% of births in Mississippi. The state has excessive charges of toddler mortality, maternal mortality and pre-term births — figures the state well being division stated would enhance by extending Medicaid protection for brand new mothers. Black girls are considerably extra prone to have problems after being pregnant.

“This invoice demonstrates that we as policymakers additionally acknowledge that our dedication to life can’t finish as soon as the newborn takes his or her first breath and is exterior of the womb,” McGee stated.

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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Related Press/Report for America Statehouse Information Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide service program that locations journalists in native newsrooms to report on undercovered points. Comply with him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg.