Expanded postpartum Medicaid coverage passes lawmakers

Mississippi legislators on Tuesday completed passage of Senate Bill 2212, which would give low income mothers Medicaid coverage for a full year after a baby is born. 

The House on Tuesday passed the bill on a vote of 92-27 and passage came without the support of DeSoto County Reps. Dana Criswell, Steve Hopkins, Dan Eubanks, and Jeff Hale, who all voted against it.  

Senators earlier in early February approved the measure on a vote of 41-11 with all three DeSoto County senators voting in favor of the bill.   

Currently, the state’s postpartum Medicaid coverage is for only 60 days. The bill, which heads to Gov. Tate Reeves for his signature, increases that to 12 months. Reeves has said he would sign the bill.  

Reacting to the bill passage in the House, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann offered these comments: 

“The Mississippi Senate, particularly Senator Kevin Blackwell and Senator Nicole Boyd, has championed legislation to extend postpartum care for mothers from 60 days to 12 months as most other states have done,” Hosemann said. “This hard work has paid off. We appreciate the House passing Senate Bill 2212. When we have healthy mothers, we have healthy babies—a great example of post-Dobbs, pro-life policy.”

Blackwell (R-Southaven) is the principal author of the bill.  Until Tuesday’s passage, Mississippi was the only state to not expand either postpartum coverage or Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act.