A new report from the Urban Institute found health insurance coverage for postpartum women in the US improved under pandemic-era Medicaid protections but has since plateaued as those policies expired.
Using data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, researchers found the uninsured rate among postpartum new mothers ages 19-44 fell 23% between 2019 and 2023, before leveling off. Approximately 347,000 women – or 9% of new moms – were uninsured in 2024.
States with limited Medicaid coverage, such as Texas, had higher rates for new mothers at 21.1%, while women living in states that had not expanded Medicaid were more than twice as likely to be uninsured as those in long-standing expansion states.
To address the widening care gap, nearly every state has now extended pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months postpartum. But, researchers warned that recent policy changes — including more frequent Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, funding reductions, and the expiration of enhanced Marketplace subsidies — could make it harder for new mothers to maintain coverage going forward.
