Governor Reeves signals support for Medicaid bill providing coverage for new moms
Governor Tate Reeves spoke out on the debate over postpartum Medicaid coverage in Mississippi, saying for the first time that he will sign a bill allowing a year of coverage for new moms, if it manages to make it to his desk.
Reeves took to social media, saying he’s willing to support the measure as “part of our new pro-life agenda.”
The governor also says such a move may ease the stress of new mothers post-birth.
Postpartum Medicaid coverage has been covered under the COVID-19 public health emergency declarations in place since 2020. However, that emergency is set to end on May 11th.
The Women’s Resource Center in Gulfport sees the value this bill could have in the state. Women’s Resource Center Executive Director Susan Kremer Jones said, “I would say about 90-95 percent of the women we see at pregnancy resource centers have no health insurance. And so, for them, after they have their baby in two months after that if they’re kicked off of their insurance, they’re not going to be as healthy. And so, therefore, they’re not going to go to the doctor when they need to and everyone knows that taking care of a baby takes a lot. And some women do suffer from postpartum and different things that they could be helped through Medicaid.”
The Women’s Resource Center provides a variety of free healthcare services during pregnancy and postpartum. They are located at 9155 Lorraine Road.
