JACKSON, ma’am. — Mississippi could allow Medicaid coverage earlier in pregnancy in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation’s highest infant mortality rate.
With broad bipartisan support, the state House passed a bill Wednesday that would allow up to 60 days of “presumptive eligibility” for Medicaid starting July 1. This means that a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical care would be paid for by Medicaid if her application for coverage by the government insurance program is considered.
Processing Medicaid applications can take weeks, and doctors say early prenatal care is important.
House Medicaid Committee Chairwoman Missy McGee of Hattiesburg pointed out that Mississippi has high rates of fetal, infant and maternal mortality.
“I think this will go a long way toward helping moms and babies be healthy… and giving babies the best chance at a healthy life,” McGee said.
Mississippi ranks worst in the U.S. for infant mortality, with black babies nearly twice as likely as white babies over the past decade, according to a report unveiled Jan. 18 by the state Department of Health.
Presumptive eligibility for Medicaid during pregnancy would be based on questions about income asked by health care providers such as county health department employees. If a woman’s Medicaid application is ultimately denied because her income is too high, Medicaid would still pay health care providers for services they provided during the time they were presumed eligible.
McGee said the presumptive eligibility could cost the Medicaid program just under $600,000 a year.
Medicaid is funded by federal and state governments, with the federal government paying at least 50% of the cost in all states and a larger share in poorer states. The federal government pays nearly 77% of Mississippi’s Medicaid spending.
In Mississippi, Medicaid coverage for pregnant women age 19 and older is based on income. A woman who falls into that age range and has no dependents can earn up to about $29,000 and qualify for Medicaid during pregnancy. A pregnant woman in that age range who has three dependents can earn up to $59,700 and qualify.
Mississippi Medicaid coverage is available at all income levels for those who are pregnant and under the age of 19.
Democratic Representative John Hines Sr. of Greenville said earlier eligibility for Medicaid coverage during pregnancy could help the state recruit gynecologists.
“Where we are now is we’re last in everything,” Hines said. “This is a step toward making Mississippi a better place.”
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 117 to 5. It will go to the Senate for more work in the coming weeks. Republicans control both chambers.
About 41% of births in the U.S. and 57% in Mississippi were financed by Medicaid in 2022, according to health policy research group KFF. Only Louisiana had a higher share of births covered by Medicaid that year, at 61%.
In 2023, Mississippi expanded postpartum Medicaid coverage from two months to a full year, with Republican Governor Tate Reeves saying the change was part of a “new pro-life agenda” to help mothers in a state that severely restricts abortion is.
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Associated Press/Report For America reporter Michael Goldberg contributed to this report.