As maternal mortality rates soar, MO lawmakers pass bills extending pregnancy coverage
Low-income pregnant mothers in Missouri would be able to receive full state health care coverage for a year after they give birth under two bills headed to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.
Both pieces of legislation approved by the Missouri Senate on Friday come after years of failed efforts by Missouri lawmakers to extend full Medicaid benefits to eligible pregnant mothers. It comes as Missouri has had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country for years.
“New moms are more likely to die in Missouri than they are in most other states, and almost all these deaths are preventable,” said state Sen. Lauren Arthur, a Kansas City Democrat who sponsored one of the bills. “These bills will help moms, help kids, and most importantly – save lives.”
Under current law, low-income pregnant and postpartum women who receive benefits from Missouri’s Medicaid program can get pregnancy-related coverage for up to two months after the end of a pregnancy. The two bills, sponsored by Arthur and state Sen. Elaine Gannon, a De Soto Republican, would extend that coverage to a full year.
Gannon’s sweeping legislation also includes an amendment that would bar state Medicaid funding for people who are not considered Missouri residents.
“Help for new moms and reducing our state’s maternal mortality rates is definitely better late than never!” Gannon said in a news release prior to the Senate’s passage.
Community advocates, health care providers and lawmakers have been frustrated with the state’s high mortality rates, knowing that 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released in 2022.
Between 2017 and 2019, 185 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy, according to previous reporting that cited the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review board.
Women of color have faced the biggest hurdles. Black mothers insured by Medicaid are about two times more likely than white women on Medicaid to become cases of severe maternal morbidity, according to the CDC.
