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Today, ahead of Mother’s Day Weekend, Secretary Xavier Becerra released the following statement to applaud the announcement of Tennessee and South Carolina working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage to 12 months postpartum to an estimated 22,000 and 16,000 parents, respectively. This expansion of coverage was made possible by a new state plan opportunity included in the American Rescue Plan.
"Today, thousands of families across Tennessee and South Carolina will get the peace of mind knowing they can get health coverage for a full year after pregnancy. The first year after birth is a vulnerable time, and thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, we are able to work with states to provide families enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program 12 months of postpartum coverage. I applaud Tennessee and South Carolina for joining our efforts to support healthy parents and babies, and urge all remaining states to work with us in expanding access to this critical care.
"As we celebrate Mother’s Day weekend, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthening maternal and reproductive health, and will continue working to ensure all mothers and families across the country have equitable access to high-quality, affordable health care."
Tennessee and South Carolina join Louisiana, Michigan, Virginia, New Jersey, and Illinois in extending Medicaid and CHIP coverage from 60 days to 12 months postpartum. CMS is also working with another nine states and the District of Columbia to extend postpartum coverage for 12 months after pregnancy, including California, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. As a result of these efforts, as many as 720,000 parents across the United States could be guaranteed Medicaid and CHIP coverage for 12 months after pregnancy.
Medicaid covers 42% of all births in the nation. This new option for states to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage is part the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the disparities in maternal health outcomes by opening the door to postpartum care for hundreds of thousands of parents.
To learn about Tennessee’s state plan amendment to extend postpartum coverage under CHIP, visit https://www.medicaid.gov/chip/state-program-information/index.html.
To learn more about South Carolina’s state plan amendment to extend postpartum coverage under Medicaid (including CHIP, operating as a Medicaid expansion program), visit https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/medicaid-state-plan-amendments/index.html.
To learn more about HHS’ efforts to strengthen maternal health, visit HHS.gov/maternalhealth.
Recent HHS investments include:
Other actions HHS has taken to promote maternal and postpartum care:
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For general media inquiries, please contact media@hhs.gov.