Extending Medicaid coverage increased at-risk mothers’ postpartum care use

Extending Medicaid coverage by 12 months post childbirth resulted in more mothers with pregnancy complications such as diabetes and hypertension using postpartum care, a Health Affairs study found. The researchers analyzed Medicaid claims birth data from 2019-2023 in New York and Texas. They found postpartum outpatient visits rose 28% for patients with diabetes and 19% for those with hypertension in New York, and 58% and 51% in Texas, where baseline postpartum care rates were lower. Diabetes screening increased 5 percentage points in New York and 12 in Texas. However, diabetes-screening rates in Texas declined after coverage ended following the COVID-19 public health emergency. The authors say postpartum extension of Medicaid is an effective strategy to increase follow-up care among Medicaid beneficiaries with pregnancy complications. (AHA News article, 10/29/26)