Committee OKs effort to extend health care for new mothers from two months to a year

Maternal mortality rates have been in steady decline around the world, but on the rise in the United States.

In 1987, that rate was 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births. By 2018, that rate had increased to 18.4 deaths per 100,000 live births, with data indicating that more than half of those deaths should have been preventable, said Rep. Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven), a practicing OB-GYN.

“The ripple effects on a family and a community are profound, lifelong, and generational,” she told the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee Tuesday.

Morrison sponsors HF3892, which would help more women access health care coverage for an entire year after giving birth.

The bill was approved as amended and referred to the House Health and Human Services Finance Division.

A companion, SF3853, is sponsored by Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Mpls) and awaits action by the Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee.

Rep. Kelly Morrison

Medical Assistance provides coverage for pregnant women with incomes up to 278% of the federal poverty guidelines for 60 days postpartum.

HF3892 would allow those women to move onto MinnesotaCare for an additional 10 months of coverage and exempt them from paying premiums during that time.

“Complications aren’t limited to a 60-day deadline,” said Dr. Erin Stevens, an OB-GYN and member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Not all maternal mortality stems from “catastrophic events” during delivery, and the “arbitrary” 60-day deadline leaves women vulnerable to many potential complications, either caused or exacerbated by the process of pregnancy or delivery, she said.

Suicide linked to post-partum depression is one of the highest causes of maternal death, said Dr. Helen Kim, a perinatal psychiatrist and director of the Hennepin Healthcare Mother-Baby Program.

Ensuring that women have mental health coverage for 12 months postpartum not only protects their lives, but also benefits their babies, as their future wellbeing – both mentally and physically – is shaped in the first 1,000 days of life, she said.

Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL-Mendota Heights) called the bill an “important step forward,” in addressing racial disparities in maternal mortality rates.

African American, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than white women, even when the data is adjusted for other factors like socioeconomic status and education, Morrison and Richardson said.

“This is a really critical bill,” said Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul).

The bill would also require the Department of Human Services to present recommendations to the Legislature regarding ways to ensure continued health care coverage for women and infants after the Medical Assistance postpartum period.

“It seems obvious now that mother and baby should have the same coverage,” Morrison said. “(It) could be the difference between life and death for some women.”