The American Rescue Plan Act’s State Option to Extend Postpartum Coverage

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) establishes a new state option to extend Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for pregnant women for one year following the baby’s birth. Under current law, Medicaid and CHIP pregnant women’s coverage extends only through 60 days postpartum. A woman loses her Medicaid or CHIP coverage at the end of her 60-day postpartum period if she is not eligible for coverage under another Medicaid eligibility category (e.g., the new adult or parent group). ARP’s new state option to extend continuous coverage for one-year postpartum enables states to take a major step towards improving health outcomes for postpartum women and their babies by mitigating coverage loss, providing comprehensive coverage in the postpartum period to address maternal mortality and morbidity, and advancing health equity

Interested in healthcare? Check out this GovWhitePapers blog post! You can also find healthcare events on our sister site, GovEvents.