Michigan is expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage for the first year of a newborn’s life for the mother and the baby.
Right now, many Medicaid enrollees receive coverage for the first two to three months of their child’s life.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has budgeted around 20-million dollars for this expansion. She says it will benefit an estimated 35-thousand pregnant and postpartum people in Michigan.
The governor’s office says this will help ensure the health and well-being of moms and babies across the state.
State health officials say nearly half of the pregnancy-related deaths in Michigan are preventable.
They say the extended coverage will allow new mothers to have postpartum depression screening and referrals for needed treatment.