Feds approve 12 months of Medicaid coverage for low-income Texas moms

(The Texas Tribune) – Texas moms will be able to stay on Medicaid for a year after childbirth, after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid approved the state’s application on Wednesday, according to emails obtained by The Texas Tribune. The move caps a yearslong effort to extend coverage for low-income moms. Medicaid covers half of all births in Texas, but coverage currently expires after two months. Related Stories In 2021, the federal government found Texas’ application for continued coverage “unapprovable” due to medically inaccurate language intended to exclude women who had abortions. But when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, giving states the right to ban abortion, the idea gained traction. During the last regular session, lawmakers worked to reach a proposal that the federal government would approve. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ approval on Wednesday makes Texas the 43rd state to be approved for the extended coverage – which was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The approval goes into effect on March 1, 2024. Under the Texas plan, anyone whose pregnancy ended in the months prior to March 1 and lost postpartum Medicaid coverage...