(Photo courtesy of Pexels-Anna Shvets)
LANSING — Michigan will expand Medicaid coverage for new mothers from 2 months to 12 months after giving birth in April 2022, a key component of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies initiative. Expanded to the moon.
This initiative sought to reduce morbidity and mortality by providing a continuum of affordable care to new mothers.
Immigrant rights groups say the initiative will leave some women behind.
Undocumented immigrants have limited access to Medicaid benefits, so they still only receive two months of postpartum coverage.
The current two-month coverage is provided under the state's Maternity Outpatient Medical Services Program (MOMS), which serves between 4,000 and 5,000 women a year. The program also covers medications, prescription vitamins, radiation therapy, ultrasounds, and delivery costs for the mother.
The Michigan Public Policy Federation urges states to extend such coverage under the MOMS program to 12 months, consistent with standard Medicaid coverage, said Simon Marshall Shah, senior policy analyst at the Michigan Public Policy Federation. He said he hopes to do so.
“Undocumented women are the only group excluded from postpartum coverage under Medicaid.” Marshall Shah said. “That’s the change we want to see.”
Health insurance coverage is important, said Susan Reed, director of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center in Ypsilanti. “A source of constant struggle” For illegal immigrants. Without proper immigration status, immigrants have limited coverage under a program called Emergency Services Only Medicaid.
“It covers almost nothing.” Reid said. “It only covers emergency medical care. It does not cover any type of treatment or ongoing care.”
Pregnancy-related care is covered by the MOMS program, but Reid says it's similarly limited.
“Having more access to postnatal care would be great for children and families.” Reid said.
Babies of undocumented mothers automatically become U.S. citizens and can receive full compensation regardless of their parents' citizenship status, she said.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that immigrants in states with limited health insurance were less likely to receive postpartum care. That could have dire consequences, says Laura Wherry, a professor and researcher at New York University.
“Severe and potentially life-threatening symptoms, such as high blood pressure and depression, are common during the first year after giving birth.” Welly said.
Marshall-Shahr said he expects the Michigan effort, if successful, to cost an additional $6 million to $10 million a year.
Wherry's research shows that expanding health care for undocumented immigrants outweighs the economic burden.
California became the first state to expand Medicaid access to illegal immigrants in 1988. Wherry used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to track the effectiveness of the state's landmark measure.
She found that access to medical care during the birth process significantly improved the health of California babies. According to her data, these benefits continued for the rest of her life.
“They attend higher education institutions at higher rates and graduate from college at higher rates.” Welly said. “They are less likely to use public benefits in later childhood and adulthood.”
“When you consider all of these long-term benefits, the government will recover the full cost of providing this type of Medicaid coverage to undocumented immigrants.” Welly said.
Reed said Medicaid coverage for illegal aliens is often not recognized.
“There is a perception that illegal immigrants have access to a lot of assistance.” Reid said. “The reality is that people are either excluded from virtually all public benefits and programs or have severe limits on what they can receive.”
