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State Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, announced Thursday that she will be bringing back legislation aimed at lowering Alabama’s rates of infant and maternal mortality.
House Bill 89, the Alabama Maternal Health Care Act, would extend presumptive Medicaid eligibility to pregnant women in Alabama.
“Alabama has long faced a mental health crisis with alarmingly low rates of women receiving the prenatal care they need in the first trimester of their pregnancy,” Lands said. “This would be a significant step in reducing infant and maternal mortality throughout Alabama in light of the fact that 11 percent of pregnant women do not receive any prenatal care whatsoever. This is unacceptable. I believe this bill will significantly increase maternal and infant outcomes and will save a substantial amount of state dollars through reduced Neo-Intensive Care Unit stays and fewer adverse health issues in both moms and babies.”
The bill already has bipartisan support, which it will need in the Republican-dominated Legislature. Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, joined Lands Thursday evening for a forum with the League of Women Voters of Alabama to discuss the bill and why it is necessary.
The price tag attached to the bill could be an obstacle to getting it passed, with the Legislative Services Agency attaching a fiscal note to the bill estimating the law would cost about $1 million.
Lands and DuBose said Thursday though that only 40 percent of that is state funds with the rest being federal, meaning the state’s portion would only be $400,000. The lawmakers have discussed that with LSA and are hopeful to have the fiscal note adjusted as they make their pitch in the upcoming legislative session.
Lands said that many women who aren’t typically eligible for Medicaid may skip out on pregnancy Medicaid believing they don’t qualify, but said the formula for eligibility is much different when pregnant. Another challenge discussed by lawmakers during the forum is that pregnancy Medicaid only covers 12 prenatal visits, leading some healthcare providers to wait until later in the pregnancy to begin prenatal visits.
The bill has not appeared in Alabama’s online legislation racking system yet, but Lands said there are currently 10 cosponsors on the bill from both sides of the aisle, primarily women.
The legislative session begins Feb. 4.
