Lawmakers Again Propose Extending Postpartum Medicaid
A 'no-brainer' has bipartisan support, was passed by 48 states. Will Vos let it die?
Newborn. Photo by William Fortunato
A majority of Wisconsin lawmakers support a bill to provide mothers on Medicaid who have just given birth with a year of coverage, but whether the bill becomes law hinges on persuading the Republican Assembly leader to let it through.
Medicaid covers about 41% of births in the U.S. and 35% of births in Wisconsin, according to data compiled by KFF, an independent health policy research and news nonprofit. A newborn whose mother is a Medicaid recipient receives a year of coverage. But mothers whose income is above 100% of the poverty level risk losing their coverage after 60 days if they don’t otherwise qualify for Medicaid.
Federal Poverty Guidelines
Based on household size
| 1 person | $15,650 |
| 2 people | $21,150 |
| 3 people | $26,650 |
| 4 people: $32,150 | |
| For 300% of the poverty guideline, multiply income by 3 | |
Source: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
For the second time in two sessions, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are advocating for a bill to extend the mother’s postpartum coverage period to a year.
“I want to support the families,” said Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston), a coauthor. “It’s just the right thing to do. It’s not political. It shouldn’t be.”
Gov. Tony Evers has been proposing covering mothers for a year in each of his budget proposals since 2019, but Republicans have removed the provision each time. In 2021, lawmakers passed a law to extend coverage to 90 days and the state applied for a federal waiver, but the federal government has never responded.
The federal government gave states the option to extend coverage to a year postpartum in 2022 in the American Rescue Plan Act, and since then, states have gradually opted in.
When Wisconsin considered extending coverage in 2023, Wisconsin was one of 12 states that hadn’t implemented the extension. Now, it’s one of two.
“It’s just us and Arkansas,” Snyder said. “Are you kidding? The only states that don’t do this.”
Despite widespread support, the bill will face a challenge in becoming law this session due to opposition from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). During a press conference in early January, he said it was “unlikely” that the proposal would become law this session.
“Our caucus has taken a position that expanding welfare is not a wise idea for anyone involved,” Vos said.
Snyder said he’s heard “rumors” that Vos may assign the bill to the Assembly State Affairs Committee. “I hope he doesn’t because a lot of times that’s where bills go to die,” he said.
Snyder, who chairs the Assembly Children and Family Committee, said his experience serving there has shown him the importance of the legislation.
“I just see the impact of families that are disrupted with something like this,” Snyder said. When mothers die as the result of a preventable issue, he noted that it results in “trauma” for the child and families.
A 2024 report from the Wisconsin Maternal Mortality Review Team found that from 2019 to 2020 there was a 30% increase in deaths of mothers within one year of the end of pregnancy, regardless of cause. In 2020, there were a total of 49 deaths.
Snyder said Wisconsin’s continued holdout means “either we don’t understand the whole gravity of it or we’re just stubborn.”
Snyder told the Examiner that bipartisan support for the measure continues this session with the majority of Senators and around 65 Assembly representatives signing on to the bill as of Wednesday afternoon.
Co-authors on the legislation alongside Snyder explained a number of ways a year of coverage would benefit Wisconsinites.
Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) called the legislation a “no-brainer,” noting the number of medical and other issues that can arise for mothers after giving birth.
“Moms are most vulnerable after giving birth to a child. There’s just a lot of issues that occur right after not to mention sleep deprivation and just being exhausted, tired,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez noted that the legislation would ensure that mothers covered under Medicaid when they give birth are able to see doctors throughout the first year after birth and allow issues to be addressed early on.
Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp) said his experience as a husband, father, grandfather, law enforcement officer and state legislator has shown him firsthand the importance of taking care of moms.
“In my opinion, there should not be a price tag on it. It shouldn’t matter how much we invest because healthy mamas bring healthy babies, which bring healthy families to Wisconsin,” James said. “Our moms go through the wear and tear of pregnancy, carrying the baby for nine months, through all the body changes… Once that mom is done giving birth, the care just doesn’t end there.”
In considering the actual cost to the state, however, James said he thought it would be worth it.
A fiscal estimate by the state Department of Health Services of the 2023 bill found that the cost of the program would be about $21.4 million in all funds, including $8.4 million in state general purpose revenue. The estimate found that Medicaid would enroll an additional 5,290 people a month.
Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) spoke about the legislation at a roundtable hosted by Protect Our Care, a health care advocacy group, in Milwaukee on Wednesday — just after the Trump administration paused federal spending and Medicaid portals froze in states across the country. Postpartum expansion became a point of “optimism” during the conversation, which included U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and patients who spoke about their varied experiences with Medicaid and fears about potentially losing Medicaid coverage.
“When my daughter was born, I had a job. I was working. It didn’t provide medical benefits. Not only did I give birth to a premature child, but two days after, I had to go back to work,” Johnson said. “What I know personally is that relying on Medicaid, it’s considered a privilege that you have to fight too hard for.”
Securing coverage could have a significant impact for Black mothers and children, Johnson noted.
Wisconsin has sharp racial disparities in maternal health. One DHS report found that from 2016 to 2023 Black women were at the highest risk for severe maternal morbidity — unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman’s health. Another study found that between 2006 and 2010 the maternal death rate for Black women in Wisconsin was five times that of white women — outpacing the national disparity during that period.
“The only way to improve the odds is to make sure that we have the coverage that we need, to follow not only that baby for 12 months, but also that mom,” Johnson said.
Johnson told the roundtable group that she thinks the bill is a priority for lawmakers, though there is a long way to go on it.
Snyder said he plans to have another conversation with Vos soon, and other lawmakers say they’ll continue to work to persuade the speaker to come around.
James said he is ready to provide his supportive colleagues with talking points and that he hopes to speak with Vos in the near future.
“I’m just hoping that he’s willing to have a conversation,” James said. “I have no issue in hearing him out… they tried to do that 60 to 90 day waiver, and the federal government says they’re not going to take anything less than one year, so I think as we progress through we just — we need to make things happen. We need to take care of our families.”
Vos has told Wisconsin Watch that he wants to see the 90-day waiver resubmitted to the Trump administration.
The proposed bill’s cosponsors said they would potentially be open to compromise, but that a year of coverage would be the easier and more impactful option.
“If we could get his support in bringing it down to 90 days, that would be great, but we’ve already done. In order to do the 90 days, we have to ask for a waiver and the state never got a response back on that,” Rodriguez said. It’d be easier, she said, to pass legislation for the full year already authorized by the federal government.
“Most of the mortality occurs between five and nine months,” Snyder said. “Between five and nine months, there is anything from cardiac arrests, preeclampsia and even suicide, so 90 days isn’t going to always help.”
Snyder said that he is hoping that Vos might change his mind.
“Hopefully enough advocates will come to him and say ‘It’s not really expanding welfare, it’s extending from two months,” Snyder said.
Rodriguez acknowledged that Vos’ “philosophical beliefs” are part of his opposition to the legislation.
But if Vos doesn’t support the legislation, “Hopefully we can find a place where he can allow this to move forward,” Rodriguez said, “maybe not support it but at least allow this bill to get to the floor.”
Lawmakers again propose extending postpartum Medicaid was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.
Take care of the moms Vote out Vos!