Georgia House passes bill seeking extended care for mothers

ATLANTA - The Georgia House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to extend health insurance coverage for poor mothers after their children are born to try to prevent maternal deaths.

Georgia has a high rate of maternal mortality after birth, particularly among African American, rural and older mothers, according to a legislative study of the issue.

State Rep. Mable Thomas, D-Atlanta, called the death rate among African American mothers an “epidemic” ahead of Tuesday’s vote of 162-1 in favor of the bill. It now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

Georgia’s state-federal Medicaid insurance plan provides only two months of coverage for poor mothers after their children are born. The new legislation would extend that coverage to six months.

The state would seek waivers from the federal government to offer the extended coverage. If approved, Georgia would also offer lactation care to help mothers and infants with breast feeding. The additional health insurance coverage and lactation assistance would cost roughly $20 million.

Fewer than 100 mothers die in a year in Georgia after birth, but the death rate in one recent three-year period was 50% above the national rate. A state study estimated 60% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable.

For more than a decade, Georgia’s Republican leaders have resisted extending Medicaid coverage to most poor adults, as envisioned under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. However, Gov. Brian Kemp, in another waiver, is looking to extend coverage to some, but not all adults.

A report last year from a legislative study committee called for a year of coverage for mothers after birth, but with the state facing lagging revenues, some programs are facing budget cuts.