Postpartum care offers the opportunity to monitor recovery from childbirth as well as to address other health care needs, such as postpartum depression, chronic conditions, and family planning. However, for individuals enrolled in Medicaid coverage by virtue of their pregnancy, such coverage ends after 60 days postpartum, and many of these individuals may not be eligible under another Medicaid pathway.
In previous meetings, the Commission discussed extending the postpartum coverage period for 12 months, focusing on whether the extension should be mandatory or optional for states and how such an extension would be financed.
The Commission approved three recommendations. The first recommendation calls on Congress to extend the postpartum coverage period for individuals who were eligible and enrolled in Medicaid while pregnant to a full year of coverage, regardless of changes in income. Services provided to individuals during the extended postpartum coverage period will receive an enhanced 100 percent federal matching rate. The second recommendation calls on Congress to extend the postpartum coverage period for individuals who were eligible and enrolled in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) while pregnant (if the state provides such coverage) to a full year of coverage, regardless of changes in income. Congress should require states to provide full Medicaid benefits to individuals enrolled in all pregnancy-related pathways.