Priority bill in Texas House would extend Medicaid coverage for women after prengancies
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) – A new bill, considered a top priority in the Texas House, would extend Medicaid coverage for women after their pregnancies.
Because of the COVID-19 public health emergency, women have received one year of Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, for one year after their pregnancy.
But the health emergency and federal rule expires in May.
This is why supporters say this new bill to continue extended health coverage in Texas is important.
Patrice Lott welcomed the birth of her daughter Kamilah-Joii in 2020 and credits her Medicaid coverage for helping her to deliver a healthy baby. "That would not have been able to have taken place if I couldn't go to the doctors."
But during an earlier pregnancy in 2019, Lott suddenly went to the hospital and learned from doctors, she was suffering a miscarriage.
After that happened, she could only remain on Medicaid for two months, which was all the state provided.
Lott said, "Once I finished my doctor's visits, it was pretty much right at two months and I was scavenging a little bit trying to figure out where I could go, who I could see."
Now, she supports House Bill 12 that would extend medicaid coverage from two months to 12 months for women after they give birth or have an involuntary miscarriage.
She testified at a Texas House legislative committee hearing this week.
Democratic State Representative Toni Rose of Dallas wrote the bill.
In an interview with CBS News Texas, Rose said, her legislation is crucial. "We've demanded that women have babies, we should demand that they have the care that they need to deliver these babies and take care of their bodies and have comprehensive care they need after the delivery."
A state report on maternal mortality released in December found there were 52 pregnancy-related deaths in 2019, and that of those, 47 deaths or 90% were preventable.
Among its recommendations, increasing access to comprehensive health services the year after pregnancy.
Rose said, "What we're trying to do is decrease the number of deaths of women in Texas."
The bill enjoys widespread support in the Texas House, which includes Republicans and House Speaker Dade Phelan.
Medical and business groups also voiced support during the state legislative hearing.
Dr. John Seago, President of Texas Right To Life told lawmakers, "At Texas Right To Life, we fully support the goal of this bill."
But he said while he backs the idea, they want to change the bill's language. "We do not want to incentivize anyone to have an abortion, an illegal abortion, an elective abortion in another state."
As for Patrice Lott, she hopes lawmakers pass the bill. "The least we can do is give them healthcare coverage so that if something does go wrong and an emergency does happen, they're not at home trying to take care of themselves."
The bill was not voted out of committee, but the House is likely to pass it, as it did by a wide margin in 2021.
Two years ago, the Texas Senate opposed the House bill to extend Medicaid coverage for one year.
Instead, the Senate would only approve coverage to be extended for six months, and the House went along.
But the Biden administration rejected the Texas program because it didn't provide a full year's worth of Medicaid coverage for women after their pregnancies.
