Medicaid-covered health care visits during the postpartum year: Variation by enrollee characteristics and state.

ABSTRACT: Extending pregnancy-related Medicaid eligibility from 60 days to 12 months postpartum represents an important opportunity to reduce maternal mortality and racial inequities in maternal health outcomes. However, patterns of health care service use after 60 days postpartum among Medicaid enrollees are not well understood. We use Medicaid claims data representing Medicaid-covered live births in 46 states in 2018 to examine outpatient visits during the postpartum year. We find that more than three-quarters of enrollees with full-year Medicaid coverage have at least one outpatient visit between 61 days and 12 months postpartum. The share of enrollees with visits varies from 51.5% to 88.0% across states and is higher among enrollees with diagnosed physical or mental/behavioral health conditions

SUBMITTER: Smith LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11823106 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature