After years of refusing to expand Medicaid benefits for new mothers, Republican officials in more than a half-dozen states are reversing course. They’re trumpeting the coverage as central to their conservative, anti-abortion agenda. The shift in GOP support for postpartum Medicaid coverage is occurring in some states that have severely limited or outlawed abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. The effort also comes as federal protections guaranteeing people stay continuously enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire soon. Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Idaho and South Dakota are among the states that have mostly banned abortion and only offer women 60 days of postpartum Medicaid coverage. Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed a budget last month that would extend the postpartum coverage period to a year, but the Republican-controlled Legislature has expressed little interest in supporting the plan. Republicans in other states, however, are now quickly pushing to expand the coverage.
