New mothers could receive Medicaid coverage for a year under bipartisan proposal for Wisconsin

Mar. 29—Medicaid coverage for new mothers would be extended to a year after birth under a resurrected bipartisan proposal coming before the state Senate insurance committee for a hearing Wednesday.

Among the few legislative measures supported both by anti-abortion groups and a wide array of Democrats, the proposal is part of a nationwide push for expanded medical care for new mothers that gained ground after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would almost certainly sign the bill, which is included in his budget proposal. Its separate introduction is in line with plans by the Republican-controlled Legislature's budget-writing committee to strip Evers' two-year state budget proposal down to its base and add the provisions that GOP lawmakers want in the final document.

"Insurance coverage disruption for postpartum women can be very detrimental to positive health outcomes for both the mother and her newborn baby, and also has an effect on providers, health systems and payers," Sens. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, and Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, and Reps. Donna Rozar, R-Marshfield, and Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, said in a memo to legislators. "For example, ongoing care is required for many mothers with chronic conditions exacerbated by pregnancy."

Nearly half of all Wisconsin legislators signed onto the bill, SB 110.

About 700 women in the U.S. die from pregnancy or delivery complications each year, and three in five of those deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Wisconsin, between 25 and 45 women die during or within one year of pregnancy, the state health department said.

Maternal mortality is five times greater among Black women than white women in Wisconsin, according to the health department.

The bill would allow pregnant women to receive Medicaid benefits for a year after they give birth, up from the current standard of 60 days. There's no estimate of the proposal's cost included in the bill proposal, but Evers' budget document states the extension would cost just over $34 million for the next two fiscal years.

Pregnant women with incomes up to three times the federal poverty level — who make $43,740 for a single person and $74,580 for a family of three — qualify for Medicaid, or BadgerCare, in Wisconsin. Once the postpartum coverage period ends, the limit returns to the poverty level, or $14,580 for a single person and $24,860 for a family of three.

A previous version of the bill received a public hearing in 2021 but didn't receive a vote in the Senate or Assembly. The measure's reintroduction follows moves from Republican states to extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers, part of a GOP push supported by anti-abortion groups in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.

Spokespersons for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMaheiu, R-Oostburg, did not respond to requests for comment.

In his 2021-23 budget, Evers proposed a one-year extension, but the Republican-controlled Legislature only approved a Medicaid extension from 60 days to 90 days for postpartum women. The Department of Health Services' 90-day extension waiver to the federal government has yet to be approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Eight states, including ones with Republican legislators and governors, are planning to implement a 12-month postpartum Medicaid extension, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And 29 states, as well as Washington, D.C., already have implemented that extension.

Among the dozens of groups that support the measure are the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, SSM Health, Wisconsin Hospital Association and the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Right to Life.

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