CMS
NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2022
Contact: CMS Media Relations
CMS Media Inquiries
HHS Approves
12-Month Extension of Postpartum Medicaid and CHIP Coverage in Indiana and
West Virginia
Up to 15,000
additional people are now eligible for essential care for a full year after
pregnancy, thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the Biden-Harris
Administration’s efforts to strengthen maternal health coverage.
Today, the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS), approved the extension of Medicaid and Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for 12 months after pregnancy in Indiana
and West Virginia. As a result, up to an additional 15,000 people annually – including 12,000
in Indiana and 3,000 in West Virginia – will now be eligible for Medicaid
or CHIP for a full year after pregnancy. With today’s approval, in
combination with previously approved state extensions, an estimated 333,000
Americans annually in 23 states and D.C. are eligible for 12 months of
postpartum coverage. If all states adopted this option, as many as 720,000
people across the United States annually would be guaranteed Medicaid and
CHIP coverage for 12 months after pregnancy.
The Biden-Harris Administration has
made expanding access to high-quality, affordable health care a top
priority – and because of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and other
Administration efforts, more people than ever before have health insurance
coverage. Extending Medicaid postpartum coverage is an important part of
these efforts.
“Ensuring mothers get the care they
need after giving birth is a core part of our effort to address the
nation’s maternal health crisis,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“Thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, now 333,000 families
across the nation can access health care coverage for a full year after
pregnancy – and have the peace of mind that comes with it. We thank Indiana
and West Virginia for joining our efforts to support healthy mothers and
families, and we call on all remaining states to take advantage of the
opportunity to provide this critical care.”
The Biden-Harris Administration has
championed policies to improve maternal health and equity since the
President and Vice President first took office. In April 2021, President
Biden issued the first-ever Presidential Proclamation marking Black
Maternal Health Week. In December 2021, Vice President Harris hosted the
first-ever White House Maternal Health Day of Action, where she announced
important commitments to address the maternal health crisis. The Vice
President also issued a call to action to the private and public sectors to
improve maternal health outcomes, where she urged states to extend Medicaid
coverage for postpartum women from 2 months to 12 months, and announced
guidance for how states can extend their coverage. Additionally, she
convened a historic meeting with Cabinet secretaries and agency leaders to
discuss the Administration’s whole-of-government approach to addressing
maternal mortality and morbidity. Today’s announcement is part of HHS’
ongoing effort to support safe pregnancies and childbirth, eliminate
pregnancy-related health disparities, and improve health outcomes for
parents and infants across our country.
In June, the White House released the
Biden-Harris Administration’s Blueprint for
Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, a whole-of-government
approach to combatting maternal mortality and morbidity. For far too many
people, complications related to pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum
period can lead to devastating health outcomes and result in hundreds of
deaths each year. This maternal health crisis is particularly devastating
for Black and American Indian and Alaska Native people, and those in rural
communities, who all experience maternal mortality and morbidity at
significantly higher rates than their white and urban counterparts.
In July, CMS released its Maternity Care Action Plan to support the
implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Blueprint, which
includes postpartum coverage extensions through Medicaid and CHIP. The
action plan takes a holistic and coordinated approach across CMS to improve
health outcomes and reduce disparities for people during pregnancy,
childbirth, and the postpartum period. CMS’ implementation of the action
plan will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s broad vision and call
to action to improve maternal health.
“Indiana and West Virginia join an
expanding list of state partners choosing to prioritize health care
coverage in the critical first year after pregnancy,” said CMS
Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The American Rescue Plan serves as a
foundation to support the health and wellbeing of postpartum women and
families. Now, as part of the Administration’s Maternal Health Blueprint
and CMS’ Maternity Care Action Plan, we’re continuing the work to make
improved maternal health a reality for communities across the country.”
This extension of coverage was made
possible by a new state plan authority established by the ARP, under
which states may extend postpartum coverage in their Medicaid and CHIP
programs from the current mandatory 60-day period to 12 months. Indiana and
West Virginia are the latest states to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage
for 12 months following pregnancy, joining California; Connecticut;
Florida; Hawaii; Illinois; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland;
Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; New Jersey; New Mexico; Ohio; Oregon;
South Carolina; Tennessee; Virginia; Washington state; and Washington, D.C.
CMS continues to work with states that have proposed adopting the ARP
option to extend postpartum coverage to 12 months.
Medicaid covers 42% of all births in the nation
and more than half of all children in the country. This new option for states to extend Medicaid
and CHIP postpartum coverage is part of ongoing efforts through HHS and the
Biden-Harris Administration to address disparities in maternal health
outcomes by opening the door to postpartum care for hundreds of thousands
of people. Extending Medicaid postpartum coverage is an important part of
these efforts, as highlighted in the Biden-Harris Administration’s
Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis and CMS’ recently
released Maternity Care Action Plan. For more
information on these and other efforts to advance connections to care for
pregnant and postpartum individuals, consult this fact sheet.
As noted in a report published by the HHS Office of
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, one in three
pregnancy-related deaths occur between one week and one year after
childbirth. The postpartum period is critical for recovering from
childbirth, addressing complications of delivery, ensuring mental health,
managing infant care, and transitioning from obstetric to primary care.
Visit Medicaid.gov to learn more
about the Medicaid and CHIP state plan amendment extension of
postpartum coverage in Indiana and West Virginia.
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