Texas Senate votes to extend Medicaid access for new moms – Houston Chronicle

This is the second straight legislative cycle that the targeted expansions have come up against a procedural gauntlet despite wide support. Both received a boost this year from Republican leadership in the House, which included the bills in a priority package of broadly bipartisan health care reforms.

The first measure would extend coverage for new moms past the 60 days they may now receive under the state’s Medicaid program. House lawmakers and maternal health experts have recommended lengthening the coverage to 12 months after childbirth, giving mothers time to schedule appointments and continue treating health issues discovered while they were pregnant.

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Maternal deaths have risen nationally in recent decades, according to federal data, and in Texas, a third of them occur after 43 days postpartum, meaning coverage often runs out before women can receive treatment through Medicaid.

State figures also show Black women die disproportionately while pregnant or after delivery, often from treatable conditions such as heart disease and infections.

A Senate committee opted last week to cut the proposed coverage period to six months after childbirth. Senate leaders have not explained the move, but some Republicans expressed doubt in a hearing that a full 12 months of coverage was needed to address the problem. The version passed Thursday was for six months of coverage.

Only a few other states have expanded their Medicaid coverage for new moms, in part because many of them expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which provides safety net coverage for adults living above the federal poverty line. Texas has declined to do so. It has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country.