A state where black children are almost twice as likely to die as white children is adding early Medicaid coverage

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A latest Mississippi law will allow pregnant women to be covered earlier by Medicaid to improve health outcomes for moms and children in a poor state with the worst infant mortality rate within the U.S.

The “presumptive eligibility” law signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will go into effect July 1. It says that Medicaid pays for a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical look after up to 60 days while her application for the government-funded insurance program is processed.

Medicaid applications can take weeks to process, and doctors say early prenatal care is essential.

The Mississippi Black Women’s Round Table advocacy group praised the brand new law, which passed the Republican-controlled Legislature with bipartisan support.

“This is a significant step forward in efforts to improve the health of women and their families,” the group said in a press release.

A report released Jan. 18 by the state Department of Health found that over the past decade, black infants in Mississippi were nearly twice as likely to die as white infants.

Presumptive eligibility for Medicaid while pregnant will probably be based on income questions asked by health care providers, such as county health department officials. If a lady’s application for Medicaid is ultimately denied because her income is too high, Medicaid will proceed to pay for services provided during her presumptive eligibility period.

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House Medicaid Committee Chair Missy McGee, a Republican from Hattiesburg, said the entire cost of the Medicaid program can be slightly below $600,000 a yr.

According to health policy research group KFF, about 41% of U.S. births and 57% in Mississippi were funded by Medicaid in 2022. Only Louisiana had the next percentage of births covered by Medicaid this yr, 61%.

In Mississippi, Medicaid coverage for pregnant women age 19 and older is income-based. A woman on this age category who has no dependents can receive up to about $29,000 and qualify for Medicaid during her pregnancy. A person with three dependents could receive as much as $59,700 and qualify.

Mississippi Medicaid coverage is available to pregnant people and folks under 19 in any respect income levels.

In 2023, Mississippi prolonged postpartum Medicaid coverage from two months to a full yr, and Reeves said the change was a part of a “new pro-life agenda” geared toward helping moms in a state where abortion is severely restricted.

However, Mississippi is amongst 10 states which have not expanded Medicaid eligibility to include people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $20,120 a yr for a single person. The expansion is allowed under federal health care overhauls that then-President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010.

The Mississippi House recently voted to expand Medicaid. The state Senate didn’t vote on the expansion proposal this yr, and Reeves has expressed opposition to adding staff to government programs for years.