An estimated 50,000 women each year experience severe maternal morbidity or severe complications after giving birth

Press Release

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Improving Coverage and Care for Mothers Act to support women before, during and after they give birth to help reduce pregnancy-related health complications. Continued access to health care is vital to a healthy pregnancy, and although Medicaid pays for almost half of all births in the United States, strict eligibility requirements and long wait-times for appointments can prohibit women from receiving the services they need and deserve. This legislation would expand Medicaid so that anyone who is pregnant or one-year postpartum would be automatically eligible for the program.

"An estimated 50,000 women each year experience severe maternal morbidity or severe complications after they leave the hospital, and Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications compared to their white peers. We must do better for pregnant women in this country and ensure that every woman, regardless of her race, ethnicity or income, has access to the care she needs," said Senator Casey. "We must build on the successes of the American Rescue Plan and provide every mother, in every state, with access to life-saving health care."

The Improving Coverage and Care for Mothers Act would also add midwives, doulas and lactation consultants as Medicaid providers and ensure adequate Medicaid reimbursement rates for the services under the bill. The federal government would provide states with a 100 percent Federal Medical Assistance Percentage payment for the new services and coverage.

Read more about the Improving Coverage and Care for Mothers Act here.

Source