The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced that more than half of all states have expanded access to 12 months of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage after pregnancy. Georgia and Pennsylvania are the 25th and 26th states to be approved for the extended coverage, made possible by provisions in the American Rescue Plan (ARP), signed into law by President Biden in March of 2021. This announcement marks critical progress in the implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Maternal Health Blueprint, a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving maternal health, particularly in underserved communities.
As a result of this announcement, up to an additional 57,000 people in Georgia and Pennsylvania will now be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP for a full year after pregnancy. In total, an estimated 418,000 Americans across 26 states and the District of Columbia now have expanded access to postpartum coverage as a result of the ARP. If all states adopted this option, as many as a total of 720,000 people across the United States 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 ARP and other Administration efforts, more people than ever before have health insurance coverage. Extending Medicaid and CHIP postpartum coverage is an important part of these efforts, and is a critical component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Maternal Health Blueprint, which Vice President Harris announced on June 24, 2022.
Click here to read the full press release.