The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today approved Georgia’s request to extend state Medicaid benefits by four months for new mothers. Now, new moms with incomes up to 220 percent of the federal poverty level will be covered for six months, instead of the current 60 days.
“We are so pleased that the Georgia Postpartum Extension waiver has been approved and we would like to thank our federal partners for their continuous engagement throughout the application process and for their expeditious approval,” says Georgia Department of Community Health Commissioner Frank Berry.
The state initially filed its waiver request with CMS in December 2020. Now that it’s approved, Georgia becomes just one of three states to lengthen Medicaid coverage for postpartum women.
Georgia lawmakers and public health leaders have long been concerned about the state’s maternal mortality rate. Maternal mortality is defined by the CDC as the death of a woman while she is pregnant or within one year of the end of the pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management. These death rates are unusually high in Georgia.
A legislative panel recommended extending Medicaid coverage to mothers for up to a year after giving birth, but lawmakers settled on half that time. Still, officials say this broader access to care could prevent many health complications and deaths.
Georgia’s Medicaid agency says it aims to decrease maternal mortality rates by 3 percent by the end of 2023.
Gov. Brian Kemp calls maternal deaths “a serious public health concern.” He says extending postpartum benefits underscores Georgia’s commitment to “enhance the level of care for new mothers in the Peach State.”
