Tag: postpartum coverage

      One of the measures the Missouri legislature approved before its session ended last week could save and improve the lives of mothers and their infants, and get the state out of the basement in state rankings for infant and maternal mortality.

      Amendments added to two bills, Senate Bill 106 and Senate Bill 45, would extend MO HealthNet or Show-Me Healthy Babies coverage for low-income pregnant women to a full year after the end of their pregnancy.  Currently that coverage stops after 60 days. 

      At the beginning of the legislative session a bipartisan group of six House members had filed that proposal, with several more having co-sponsored it. 

      “It takes a team of people that really care about legislation to move it and I’m just proud to be a part of that team,” said Representative Melanie Stinnett (R-Springfield), one of those sponsors. 

      “I think it makes a big difference for women who are looking at what life looks like after birth and how they can take care of themselves well and make sure that their family is healthy also.  It really is going to impact children, also.  I spoke when I testified in the House hearing about how important that first year of life is for a child, and if that mom’s getting healthcare she can ask those important questions about those things that are impacting her child, as well, so I think there are a wide variety of impacts that we’re going to see for families.”

      It was the fourth time Representative LaKeySha Bosley (D-St. Louis) had brought the idea forward, and she said she was ecstatic to see one of “her babies” reach the governor’s desk, and for it to have been part of a truly bipartisan effort.

      “Everybody was just excited about actually doing something around postpartum that could really make a difference,” said Bosley.

      Legislators heard time and time again that a reason to pass this legislation is that Missouri is one of the lowest ranked states in terms of maternal and infant mortality.  Representative Patty Lewis’ (D-Kansas City) background includes more than 20 years in nursing.  She said this extension will make a huge difference for low-income Missouri mothers, and thereby help Missouri improve that ranking.

      “Currently an average of 60 Missouri women die within one year of being pregnant … seventy-five percent of these deaths are preventable, so extending the coverage from 60 days to one year will absolutely address our maternal mortality rate in this state.”

      Many Republicans point out that the measure is also fiscally conservative.  By improving outcomes for mothers, and thereby for their infants, many of them will require less state assistance and will make fewer emergency room visits.

      Sedalia Republican Brad Pollitt said, “I didn’t vote for expanded Medicaid but this isn’t an expansion, this is just an extension for a select few who kind of fall through the cracks.  I was glad that we were able to give them the opportunity to have this coverage to cut down on the number of deaths, not only in the mothers but also the babies.”

He adds, “I’m pleased that we had a bipartisan, pro-life bill that we could come to an agreement on and pass and get it to the governor’s desk.”

      Democrats say the bill was especially important in the wake of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that triggered a law banning most abortions in Missouri. 

      “We need to give [women] access to the services and the care that they need in order to stay healthy in order to raise those babies,” said Bosley.

      She noted that some groups in Missouri are impacted more greatly by infant and maternal mortality than others. 

      “As an African American woman I am three times more likely to die during childbirth in the State of Missouri and throughout this country, so to be able to give women who look like me and poor women across this state an opportunity to be able to have lifesaving [healthcare], like we’re actually changing lives, that was the purpose of us being sent here.”

      Bosley said this additional coverage for mothers and infants impacts an entire family.  People often don’t think about what a partner goes through when a mother or infant are sick.

      “From a partner’s perspective, who doesn’t know how to identify the signs of when someone is going through a postpartum, maybe postpartum depression, this also gives them the ability to learn and to advocate on behalf of their partner – behalf of the mom and baby, so not only are we saving mommy and baby’s lives, we also are saving relationships and families and building a cohort around how we can do that for mommy, baby, and papa.”

      Each of these lawmakers spoke to House Communications through huge smiles as they talked about getting this legislation to the governor. 

      Said Lewis, “One of the main reasons I ran for office is because I believed I could save more lives on a macro level through policy, and this particular bill is something that will truly save lives.”

Pollitt added, “It’s a good thing.  It’s something we should do.  I think it’s a common sense approach.”

This provision would become law immediately upon SB 106 or SB 45 becoming law. Those bills are now awaiting action by Governor Mike Parson (R), who could choose to either sign them into law, allow them to become law without his action, or veto them.