Medicaid expansion fills gaps in maternal health coverage leading to healthier mothers and babies

A report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF), an independent, nonpartisan policy and research center, says substantial new research shows the significant improvements in access to health coverage for women of childbearing age was achieved through the adoption of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion.

Noting that maternal and infant mortality is higher in the U.S. than most other industrialized nations, CCF said reviews of state data estimate the majority of pregnancy related deaths are preventable. Expanding access to health coverage is a key strategy for addressing this problem, it said. A growing body of research demonstrates the ACA and implementation of state Medicaid expansions have had positive effects on the health of mothers and their infants.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends women have access to continuous health coverage in order to increase preventive care, reduce avoidable adverse obstetric and gynecologic health outcomes, increase early diagnosis of disease and reduce maternal mortality rates. Research also finds that Medicaid expansion has an important role in reducing the significant and persistent racial disparities in maternal and infant health. And finally, new studies show that healthier mothers mean healthier infants - another benefit for states that expand Medicaid.

Key Findings:

·   New research shows states that expand Medicaid improve the health of women of childbearing age: increasing access to preventive care, reducing adverse health outcomes before, during and after pregnancies, and reducing maternal mortality rates.

·   While more must be done, Medicaid expansion is an important means of addressing persistent racial disparities in maternal health and maternal mortality.

·   Better health for women of childbearing age also means better health for their infants. States that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw a 50 percent greater reduction in infant mortality than non-expansion states.

·   The uninsured rate for women of childbearing age is nearly twice as high in states that have not expanded Medicaid compared to those that have expanded Medicaid (16 percent v. 9 percent). States with the highest uninsured rates for women of childbearing age are: Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming. Ten of these twelve states have not expanded Medicaid.