A new Mississippi law will allow earlier Medicaid coverage for pregnant women in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the worst rate of infant mortality in the U.S.
The “presumptive eligibility” legislation signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will become law July 1. It says Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical care for up to 60 days while her application for the government-funded insurance program is being considered.
Processing Medicaid applications can take weeks, and physicians say early prenatal care is vital.
The advocacy group Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable praised the new law, which passed the Republican-controlled Legislature with bipartisan support.
“This represents a significant step forward in the effort to create better health for women and their families,” the group said in a statement.
Black infants in Mississippi were nearly twice as likely as white ones to die over the past decade, according to a report unveiled Jan. 18 by the state Department of Health.
Presumptive Medicaid eligibility during pregnancy would be based on questions about income, asked by health care providers such county health department workers. If a woman’s Medicaid application is ultimately rejected because her income is too high, Medicaid would still pay for services provided during the time of presumptive eligibility.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
How would you feel if your access to healthcare depended on your income, especially during pregnancy?
@9KVFS5Z2mos2MO
It should be fair treatment all the way around.
@9KVF6LJProgressive2mos2MO
Expecting a kid and not being able to afford healthcare can seem extremely stressful and should be afordable to those who don't have a high income.
@9KVCGG4Republican2mos2MO
There are women that struggle to pay for their healthcare especially during pregnancy it can be a challenge these women shouldn't have to be going through this.
@9KVBH82Progressive2mos2MO
equal acces to health care is good
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Do you think it's fair that infants' chances of survival can vary greatly depending on where they are born?
@9KVY57C2mos2MO
I think that the idea of losing your child in a way you can't control will get lots of peoples attention.
@9KVCZ3C2mos2MO
bro everyone needs to be equal during birth
@9KV6QGN2mos2MO
Why should a child's life and health depend on where they were born or came from, no matter the case, every kid should have the same opportunities as kids born in the U.S. And be able to live a fruitful life.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Imagine discovering that your ethnicity could significantly impact your baby's health outcomes; what would be your immediate reaction?
@9KVD5XK2mos2MO
I'd be extremely upset that the freedoms that we practice in the U.S.A can be stripped away for healthcare.
@9KVC2GYPeace and Freedom2mos2MO
a parents ethnicity shouldn't be a burden for a child that hasn't even been born.
@DemocraticBatTranshumanist2mos2MO
Mississippi is #1:
#1 in poverty rate
#1 in infant mortality
#1 in deaths by firearms
#1 in imprisonment rate
As of November 2023, the states with the highest infant mortality rates are:
•Ohio: 7.11
•Indiana: 7.16
•West Virginia: 7.32
•Louisiana: 7.37
•Delaware: 7.49
•Arkansas: 7.67
•South Dakota: 7.77
•Mississippi: 9.11
Factors that contribute to infant mortality include:
•Health of women before and during pregnancy
•Access to adequate healthcare
•Safe living conditions
In 2021, infant mortality rates were highest among states in the South, Alaska, and in the Midwest.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO