Florida is extending Medicaid coverage for new mothers to a full year after childbirth [Miami Herald] – Insurance NewsNet
for a decade,
But this week
Critical for new mothers, infants
The extension is critical to ensuring the health of both the mother and child, since most new mothers receive Medicaid
“When parents have insurance, they’re more likely to have their children sponsored,” said Yager, who added that expanding Medicaid coverage will also help mothers have the ability to stay healthy between pregnancies.
“One year of childbirth insurance is not enough to ensure that women who give birth remain healthy throughout their reproductive years,” she said. “Any obstetrician will tell you that we need medical care before pregnancy, during pregnancy and after pregnancy.”
Medicaid paid almost 50% of all
The insurance cover ends after one year
After a year, however, mothers will not find it easy to maintain Medicaid coverage
Once maternity insurance ends, the same mother cannot earn more than 30% of the federal poverty line or thereabouts
Children whose parents meet state income limits – between
More than 5.2 million Floridians were enrolled in Medicaid as of April, and about half of them are children, according to the state
Due to the public health emergency, the federal government gave states a slight increase in their Medicaid payments. In exchange, the states agreed not to delist anyone who had received Medicaid coverage unless they moved out of the state.
Millions of Floridas could lose their health insurance
Once public health emergency ends, possibly as early as October, Floridas
Although many more Floridians now have Medicaid coverage than they did before the pandemic, Yager is with the
Many Floridians on Medicaid face long waits to see a doctor or receive specialized medical services, and Yager said it’s critical to monitor whether there are enough doctors and other health care providers to serve the Medicaid population.
“Someone may have Medicaid, but are they able to find a health care provider that is close to them in their network,” she said. “Are there enough mental health providers in a given region? This is something we want to keep an eye on going forward.”
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