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For Immediate Release:
August 24, 2023
Contact:
Cassie Nichols
[email protected]
ICYMI: Expanding Medicaid Could Reduce
High Maternal Mortality Rates
KEY QUOTE: "Smith said Kansas has taken good steps, referencing training she’s been involved in at KU, postpartum extensions and efforts to address the cost of living through eliminating the food sales tax and affordable housing initiatives. But the most impactful step the state could take, she said, would be Medicaid expansion.”
- Sharla Smith, Founder of the Kansas Birth Equity Network
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In Kansas, a report summary published last week by the Kansas Maternal Mortality Review Board found 105 cases in which a woman died while pregnant or within a year of pregnancy between 2016 and 2020.
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It determined that 29 of those were determined to be pregnancy related, 79% of which were preventable.
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A major barrier to that early intervention in Kansas, advocates say, is the state’s continued resistance to expanding Medicaid.
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Kansas is one of 10 that has not expanded Medicaid. As a result, a coverage gap remains for Kansans who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
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