A new law in Mississippi would allow pregnant women early access to Medicaid in an effort to improve the health of mothers and children in the poor state, which has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the nation.
The “presumptive eligibility” bill, signed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on Tuesday, is expected to become law on July 1. Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical expenses for up to 60 days while her application for the government-funded insurance program is considered. .
Medicaid applications can take weeks to process, and doctors say early prenatal care is critical.
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The Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, an advocacy group, praised the new law, which passed the Republican-controlled Legislature with bipartisan support.
“This represents an important step forward in our efforts to improve the health of women and their families,” the organization said in a statement.
Black infants in Mississippi were nearly twice as likely to die as white infants over the past decade, according to a report released Jan. 18 by the state Department of Health.
Mississippi Republican Governor Tate Reeves delivers his State of the State address to the Mississippi State Legislature at the State Capitol in Jackson on February 26, 2024, and Reeves announced on March 12, 2024 that a new law allowing women to: signed into law. Get Medicaid coverage early in your pregnancy. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Presumptive Medicaid eligibility during pregnancy is determined based on income questions from health care providers, such as county health department personnel. Even if a woman’s Medicaid application is ultimately denied because her income is too high, Medicaid will still pay for services provided during the presumptive eligibility period.
House Medicaid Committee Chairwoman Missy McGee (R-Hattiesburg) said the total cost of the Medicaid program would be just under $600,000 a year.
About 41% of births in 2022, and 57% of births in Mississippi, were covered by Medicaid, according to KFF, a health policy research group. Only Louisiana had the highest percentage of births covered by Medicaid that year, at 61%.
In Mississippi, Medicaid coverage for pregnant women age 19 and older is income-based. Women in this age group with no dependents can receive up to about $29,000 during pregnancy and qualify for Medicaid. Those with three dependents can receive and qualify for up to $59,700.
Mississippi Medicaid is available at all income levels if you are pregnant and under 19 years of age.
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Mississippi extended postpartum Medicaid coverage from two months to one year in 2023, a change Reeves said was a “new pro-life policy to help mothers in states where abortion is highly restricted.” ” as part of the project.
Mississippi is one of 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid eligibility to people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $20,120 per person per year. The expansion was authorized under an overhaul of the federal health care system signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2010.
The Mississippi House of Representatives recently voted in favor of expanding Medicaid. The state Senate has not voted on the expansion this year, and Reeves has long said he opposes adding more people to the government program.
