AUSTIN, Texas — In a 125-11 vote, the Texas House advanced a bill Thursday that would allow moms on Medicaid to stay covered for one year postpartum.
House Bill 12 is authored by State Rep. Toni Rose (D - Dallas).
Currently, Texas moms who receive Medicaid lose coverage two months after childbirth. During the 2021 legislative session, the House passed a bill similar to HB 12, but the Senate reduced coverage expansion in the bill from one year to six months. That bill was left in limbo after the federal government called it "not approvable" in the way it was written.
Since then, other states have adopted a 12-month coverage policy for moms postpartum. Texas is one of 11 states that does not over that amount of coverage.
On the House floor Thursday, all votes against the bill were from Republicans. Still, the Republican Party of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott have expressed support for HB 12.
More than 170 Texas bipartisan organizations have also sided with the legislation.
“We’re thrilled to see all the bipartisan support for letting moms keep their health coverage for a full year after their pregnancy,” Diana Forester, director of health policy for Texans Care for Children, said in a press release. “There’s definitely more urgency to pass the bill now that Texas is restarting the longstanding state policy of cutting off moms’ health coverage when their baby is just two months old. Given all the health challenges that moms can face during that first year – including postpartum depression, cardiac arrest, infection, and extreme blood loss or hemorrhage – the Legislature should make sure moms can keep getting the medical care they need.”
Allowing new moms to stay on Medicaid for 12 months is the top recommendation of the state’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (MMMRC). The task force, created in 2013, recently documented the staggering risks of pregnancy and childbirth in Texas.
According to the MMMRC's 2022 report, chronic disease accounted for almost 20% of pregnancy-related deaths in Texas in 2019. Chronic disease includes conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
The report also said at least 52 deaths were related to pregnancy in Texas during 2019. Serious bleeding, or obstetric hemorrhage, and mental health issues were among the top causes of death.
HB 12 needs a final vote of approval before heading to the Senate. That vote is expected to happen Friday.