Texans Would Receive Medicaid Coverage For One Year After Giving Birth

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Medicaid Coverage ( Photo: Parents )

Pregnant Texans can avail of Medicaid for 12 months after giving birth

Texas now offers Medicaid coverage for two months after conception for low-income mothers. In the last Congress, the House voted to extend this period to 12 months but the Senate shortened it to 6 months. Wade and state legislatures have approved a near-total abortion ban in Texas. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and advocacy groups across ideologies supports the bill but at least one major anti-abortion group has withdrawn its support in recent weeks.

The Texas Right to Life made similar arguments in a Senate committee hearing but the committee did not amend the bill. Shego introduced an amendment to a House committee to exempt those who had abortions from Medicaid but the House did not pass it.

The bill will ensure that “women who give birth are cared for and their children are cared for”

The bill represents a rare sign of political unity on an often sensitive issue in Texas. One of only 12 states not expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act About 1 in 5 of the population remains without health insurance. The bill stipulated that the 12-month insurance period begins on the last day of pregnancy. It is not specified how the pregnancy must be terminated. Many conservative groups supported the bill repeatedly stressing that it was an extension of coverage and not an extension of Medicaid.

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