Missouri House panel advances 'clean' maternal mortality measure [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Feb. 28—JEFFERSON CITY — A House panel Tuesday moved to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income mothers and their babies without Senate language that could otherwise endanger federal approval of the long-sought extension.

A week after the Senate approved a plan to offer health insurance coverage to moms and babies for 12 months after a pregnancy, the House Emerging Issues Committee voted unanimously to forward their version of the bill to the full House.

The key difference in the two is the lack of provisions that would bar women who have abortions from receiving the extended benefits.

That language was added in the Senate, but is viewed as a poison pill because it could be rejected by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"We did not add any of the Senate language," said Rep. Bill Hardwick, R-Waynesville, who chairs the committee.

"I'm really hopeful we can keep it that way," added Rep. Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Bishop Davidson, R-Republic, is part of a renewed, bipartisan effort to extend Medicaid coverage following the birth of a child as a way to help bolster positive health outcomes in both the infant and the new mom.

The state currently offers the government-funded insurance coverage for two months after a baby is born, but most acknowledge a longer coverage period could help address Missouri's high maternal mortality rate.

An average of 61 women died each year between 2017 and 2019 while they were pregnant or within a year of their pregnancies, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said in a recent report.

The report added that three out of every four pregnancy-related deaths were preventable.

The extended coverage period has received heightened attention in the Republican-controlled General Assembly now that nearly all abortions are outlawed in Missouri after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

But in the Senate, conservatives including Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, and Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican who is exploring a run for governor in 2024, successfully added language last week prohibiting postpartum benefits if a women has an abortion.

That left Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle hoping the House could send the upper chamber a so-called "clean" version, devoid of the abortion wording, that will pass muster with federal regulators.

In a December 2021 memo from CMS, federal regulators say the extension should be given to mothers "regardless of any changes in circumstances," suggesting the agency would reject abortion-related provisions in a state's application.

Aune said the bill heading to the full House could culminate years of bipartisan efforts to extend the benefits period.

"There is a clear bipartisan push to make life easier for new mothers," Aune said following the House committee vote.

On top of being backed by leaders in both chambers, Gov. Mike Parson also has made the issue a priority this year, putting $4.4 million into his budget proposal to implement a new maternal mortality prevention plan to provide support and address preventable deaths of expecting and postpartum mothers.

An estimated 4,565 women would have coverage extended if the bill passed. The proposal could cost $10.7 million by 2025, a legislative analysis of the measure noted.

The legislation is House Bill 354.

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