February 2, 2024 by Natalie Cochran
Low-income Texas Moms are Now Eligible to Receive 12 Months of Medicaid
As of March 1, 2024, low-income mothers in Texas will receive Medicaid coverage for a year after giving birth. This approval, granted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, marks a year-long initiative that encompasses half of all births in the state.
In Texas, Medicaid enrollment grew steadily throughout the pandemic, increasing from about 4 million people in early 2020 to nearly 6 million by April 2023. Extending postpartum Medicaid beyond two months in a state with increasing maternal mortality rates and where one in four women have no access to health insurance outside of pregnancy, is what advocates have been calling “a fantastic step forward.”
“This approval from the federal government allows Texas to join the majority of the states that currently offer 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage to low-income pregnant people,” Lone Star Legal Aid’s Public Benefits and Outreach Litigation Director, Marty Orozco said. “It should have a significant impact on people of color, who suffer the highest rates of maternal morbidity. This is an important step towards racial equity in access to healthcare and provides low-income families, such as Lone Star Legal Aid’s client community, with one more path out of poverty.”
Under the Texas plan, anyone whose pregnancy ended in the months prior to March 1 and lost Medicaid coverage will be eligible to re-enroll for 12 months coverage after their pregnancy ended. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ approval makes Texas the 43rd state to be approved for the extended coverage.
Lone Star Legal Aid’s Public Benefits Unit provides legal services to low-income families and helps them obtain nutritional, financial and income-support benefits. If you or a loved one need assistance, you can apply for free legal services by visiting our website at www.lonestarlegal.org or by calling 1-800-733-8394.
Lone Star Legal Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy on behalf of low-income and underserved populations. Lone Star Legal Aid serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines that reside in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties of southwest Arkansas. Lone Star Legal Aid focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety and stability, health and well‐being; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those who have disabilities, or who are elderly, homeless, or have limited English language skills. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.lonestarlegal.org
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
