New moms who cannot afford private insurance will be eligible for a year of postpartum Medicaid coverage starting in July after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2212 into law without fanfare today. Current Mississippi law only provides for two months of coverage for new mothers after they give birth.
In a statement, Reeves said the bill is about “furthering our new pro-life agenda and delivering the support moms and babies need” and that the bill will “lower barriers for expectant moms to bring new babies into the world and to choose life.”
“I believe continuing to offer care for new moms for up to 12 months after the birth of their baby is the right thing to do,” he added. “This is one more thing that we can do to tip the scales in favor of life. And that has to be our priority.”
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann hailed the move in a tweet this afternoon. “We will always choose life, standing up for our mothers, our children, and the unborn,” he wrote. “Today, Mississippi joins most all other states in the nation in extending healthcare services for new mothers from 60 days to 12 months.”
The Mississippi Free Press reported in 2021 that about 25,000 Mississippians use Medicaid to cover pregnancy.
“Today, Mississippi joins most all other states in the nation in extending healthcare services for new mothers from 60 days to 12 months,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann (pictured) said on March 16, 2023, after Gov. Tate Reeves signed S.B. 2212, allowing new mothers to receive postpartum Medicaid coverage for a year after giving birth. Photo by Nick Judin
Reeves signaled support for making Medicaid coverage available to mothers for one year on Feb. 26, but noted that he had not been swayed by the data on its benefits. It is “at best, incomplete and, at worst, often misconstrued and mischaracterized by the ‘more government benefits no matter the costs’ crowd,” he said in February.
Mississippi Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, presented Senate Bill 2212 to the Mississippi House Medicaid Committee two days later on Feb. 28. She
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