Key Points
Approximately 63% of maternal deaths in the US occur postpartum, yet nearly one-third of individuals experience postpartum insurance loss or changes (ie, churn). Medicaid-insured pregnant people are more likely to experience churn because pregnancy-related Medicaid ends after 60 days postpartum, and Medicaid eligibility for parents is more restrictive (on average, 40% of the federal poverty level [FPL] in nonexpansion states and 138% of the FPL in expansion states compared with a median 200% of the FPL during pregnancy).
Using the 2019 to 2021 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, and the annual sample size of approximately 98,000 househoulds, researchers analyzed postpartum coverage pre pandemic, early pandemic, and pandemic.
Researchers found that postpartum insurance loss decreased during the pandemic, primarily associated with large increases in consistent Medicaid coverage. These findings suggest that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which prevented Medicaid disenrollment, was associated with substantial reductions in postpartum Medicaid loss.
Authors: Erica Eliason, PhD; Jamie Daw, PhD; Maria Steenland, SD
Publication Date: April 2022