File #: Res 0096-2022    Version: * Name: Expand Medicaid benefits to one year postpartum. (S.1411B/A.307B)
Type: Resolution Status: Filed (End of Session)
Committee: Committee on Health
On agenda: 3/24/2022
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling on the State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1411B/A.307B, which would expand Medicaid benefits to one year postpartum.
Sponsors: Carlina Rivera , Shahana K. Hanif, Kevin C. Riley, Althea V. Stevens, Julie Won, Lincoln Restler, Justin L. Brannan, Alexa Avilés, Sandy Nurse, Kalman Yeger , Pierina Ana Sanchez
Council Member Sponsors: 11
Attachments: 1. Res. No. 96, 2. March 24, 2022 - Stated Meeting Agenda, 3. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 3-24-22, 4. Minutes of the Stated Meeting - March 24, 2022

Res. No. 96

 

Resolution calling on the State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.1411B/A.307B, which would expand Medicaid benefits to one year postpartum.

 

By Council Members Rivera, Hanif, Riley, Stevens, Won, Restler, Brannan, Avilés, Nurse, Yeger and Sanchez

 

Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a pregnancy-related death is defined as the death of a person while pregnant or within one year of the end of a pregnancy (regardless of the outcome or duration of the pregnancy) from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes; and

Whereas, Data from the CDC find that about one-third of all pregnancy-related deaths occur one week to one year after a pregnancy ends; and

Whereas, In a report released in 2019, New York State was ranked 30th in the nation for its maternal mortality rate; and

Whereas, New York State had a maternal mortality rate for Black women of 52 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 16 deaths per 100,000 live births for white women during 2014-2016; and

Whereas, According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the postpartum period represents a time of increased vulnerabilities; and

Whereas, In addition to monitoring a person’s physical wellbeing postpartum, it is important to maintain access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment services during this time; and

Whereas, Those with opioid use disorder relapse far more often in the postpartum period compared with during pregnancy and should have access to and continued use of treatment services; and

Whereas, New York State offers Medicaid to pregnant New York residents who meet income requirements, regardless of immigration status; and

Whereas, In the Medicaid for pregnancy program, babies receive health care services for at least one year after birth, but the pregnant individual only receives care for 60 days after the end of pregnancy; and

Whereas, S.1411B/A.307B, sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, would extend the coverage period for medical assistance to a period of one year beginning on the last day of pregnancy; and

Whereas, In New York State, over 50 percent of births were covered by Medicaid in 2018; and

Whereas, In 2019, about 56 percent of births in New York City were covered by Medicaid; and

Whereas, That year, approximately 77 percent of Hispanic (not of Puerto Rican ancestry), 67.5 percent of Puerto Rican, 66 of Black, and 55 percent Asian/Pacific Islander live births were covered by Medicaid, compared to 37 percent white live births; and

Whereas, According to a 2020 study comparing states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to nonexpansion states, Medicaid expansion was significantly associated with lower maternal mortality by 7.01 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births relative to nonexpansion states; and

 Whereas, Medicaid expansion effects were concentrated among non-Hispanic Black mothers, suggesting that expansion could be contributing to decreasing racial disparities in maternal mortality; and

Whereas, In New York City, Black pregnant people are 8 to 12 times more likely to die due to pregnancy compared to their white counterparts; and

Whereas, According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Black non-Latina women had the highest severe maternal morbidity rate (three times that of White non-Latina women), with rates also high among Puerto Rican and other Latina women compared to White non-Latina women; and

Whereas, The CDC has found that almost two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable; and

Whereas, Extending Medicaid coverage past 60 days postpartum is a commonsense way to save lives and improve parent and child health outcomes and could help reduce stark racial disparities in maternal mortality; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign S.1411B/A.307B, which would expand Medicaid benefits to one year postpartum.

 

Session 12

EB

LS 5096

03.04.2022

 

Session 11

CP

LS #15870

Res. 1500-2020