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Extended Medicaid coverage looks to address racial disparities in maternity care


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Health care is an essential need.

That's one of the reasonsIllinois expanded Medicaid for postpartum women, but it's not the only reason; maternal death is a big concern in the state and the people who live here.

“Any woman should have the care that she needs to deliver a healthy baby and care for that baby,” Springfield resident Jenny Barnes said.

A third of maternal deaths happen after a woman delivers a baby in Illinois; between one week and one year after childbirth, about 33% of women die in the postpartum period.

Illinois is expanding Medicaid for postpartum women from 60 days to 12 months.

"It's really looking at addressing socioeconomic disparities in maternity care,” Dr. Robert Abrams said.

Abrams is the director of obstetrics for the south-central Illinois perinatal center at HSHS St. John's Hospital. He also doubles as SIU's Division Chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

He said there is a large racial disparity between maternal deaths among African-American women and white women.

According to a 2018 report from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Black women were six times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related condition.

Extended Medicaid will also improve the health of low-income mothers.

"There's a much higher rate of maternal death in those women of lower socioeconomic status," Abrams said. "We feel that's directly related to their inability to continue care for high-risk conditions."

This will give new moms the continued care they need for any medical conditions.

"It'll make them want to see the doctor because they know that they will have insurance coverage," Abrams said. "Ultimately, it's going to lead to healthier babies and healthier moms."




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