Alaska Senate approves expanded Medicaid benefits for new mothers

The Alaska Senate has advanced a proposal from Gov. Mike Dunleavy that would expand state Medicaid coverage for new mothers.

In a 16-0 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 58 and sent it to the House for further work.

If approved there, SB 58 would make Alaska the 42nd state to offer up to one year of Medicaid coverage for new mothers, an extension from the existing 60-day maximum.

The extension is expected to cost about $2.6 million more per year, but work in other states has shown that the extension is likely to reduce the number of new mothers dying after giving birth.

“I am incredibly excited to see this bill pass the Senate and really look forward to the House passing this bill,” said Heidi Hedberg, the commissioner-designee for the Department of Health.

“It really provides and ensures that moms who have had babies and are on Medicaid continue that coverage and it assures the parents or the mom in addition to the babies have coverage,” she said.

The department later added by email: “Mothers in the United States face a sharp increase in preventable maternal mortality rates and Alaska is no exception. Passing this bill provides new moms that are on Medicaid continued coverage so that they have access to the health care they need.”

If the bill passes the House before the end of the legislative session, it would be the first piece of legislation passed on behalf of the Department of Health since the agency was created last year.

Asked whether she believes the House will act before the legislative session ends May 17, Hedberg said, “That’s what we’re all hoping for, and I do expect it. Yes.”