A bill extending postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a year in Wyoming passed through the state House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The House voted 34-28 without discussion to support House Bill 4 on its third reading, sending it to the Senate for discussion.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act temporarily extended postpartum medical benefits to new mothers to one year. Before that in Wyoming, mothers were covered for 60 days.
With the extension, enrollment increased from 1,200 to 4,200 in Wyoming. Around 1,200 to 2,000 mothers a year are expected to benefit from the extension.
The bill would make the postpartum Medicaid extension effective through at least 2024. Legislators would have to determine whether they want to continue funding the program by 2024.
Wyoming is one of 12 states to have not extended postpartum coverage.
The original bill requested $3.8 million a year in state money to pay for the extension, but that was halved to $1.9 million, matched dollar-for-dollar by federal money.
