JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s Republican leaders are on the same page as President Joe Biden when it comes to providing a year’s worth of medical coverage to new mothers and their babies.
After years of balking at expanding Medicaid to serve more low-income Missourians, top aides to Republican Gov. Mike Parson cheered news this week that the federal government had approved the state’s plan to extend postpartum coverage from two months to 12 months.
“Federal approval of the 12 month postpartum coverage is an important step toward improving health outcomes for moms in the state of Missouri,†said Todd Richardson, director of the state’s Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet.
“With nearly 50% of births in Missouri on MO HealthNet we want to make sure that mothers have the ability to take care of their own health as well as the health of their babies,†Richardson said.
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That’s an about-face from his position in 2018, when Richardson was hired by Parson to oversee the Medicaid program.
At the time, the former speaker of the Missouri House said, “My focus is not going to be on expanding Medicaid eligibility.â€
The extension of postpartum benefits for women with MO HealthNet coverage was approved by the GOP-led Missouri Legislature in May. It was given the green light earlier this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Robert Knodell, a former top deputy in Parson’s office who now serves as chief of the Missouri Department of Social Services credited a bipartisan group of women lawmakers for pushing the change across the finish line in the spring.
“The Department of Social Services is grateful for the initiative of the Missouri General Assembly in passing legislation to establish the 12 month postpartum coverage,†Knodell said.
In particular, he singled out Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, and Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, as well as Rep. Melanie Stinnett, R-Springfield, for taking the lead on the extension.
“I look forward to continued partnership and collaboration with them on maternal health and improved health outcomes for Missouri citizens,†Knodell said.
The bipartisan support for extending coverage is viewed as a way to address a potential increase in births in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year.
Activists on both sides of the abortion issue also cheered the federal approval.
“Expanding postpartum care coverage from the wholly inadequate 60 days to the full postpartum year will save Missouri lives,†said Abortion Action Missouri executive director Mallory Schwarz. “Restrictions on reproductive health care access lead to poor reproductive health outcomes.â€
Sam Lee, an anti-abortion activist for Campaign Life Missouri, also praised the extension.
“It is vital that Missourians work together to lower the state’s maternal and infant morbidity and mortality rates,†Lee wrote on social media. “The pro-life community is committed in assisting in additional bipartisan efforts by Missouri lawmakers to help moms and babies — born and unborn — get the health care and services they deserve.â€
For Medicaid recipients, federal approval does not represent a significant shift in recent practice for MO HealthNet.
In response to the pandemic, the state stopped kicking people off Medicaid in 2020, allowing women who received coverage due to pregnancy to stay on the MO HealthNet rolls.
That policy has continued while the state undertakes a yearlong renewal process for Medicaid recipients.
Missouri is the 40th state to be approved for the extended coverage.
“I applaud Missouri’s decision to extend postpartum coverage for a full year after delivery,†said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris Administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to improve maternal health. HHS continues to support policies and programs that help ensure the health of mothers and babies. I urge all remaining states to extend postpartum coverage to do so.â€
The approval is expected to result in an additional 18,000 Missourian becoming eligible for Medicaid for a full year after pregnancy. The federal program covers an estimated 41% of all births in the nation and more than half of all children in the country.
According to an annual report issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, an average of 70 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy between 2018 and 2020.
The survey determined that the pregnancy-related mortality ratio was 32 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is up from 25.2 deaths in the 2017-19 time frame. Eighty-four percent of pregnancy-related deaths were determined to be preventable, which is nine percentage points higher than the previous multiyear report.
The mortality rate for Black mothers continues to be higher across the state.
“Black women living in Missouri are three times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women,†the report noted.
In addition to extending coverage to a full year, the state budget also includes an additional $4 million for maternal mortality programs amid the increase outlined in the report.
Missouri ranked 12th in maternal mortality in the nation from 2018 to 2020.