[Excerpt]

The bill would provide six months of Medicaid coverage to qualifying new moms....and could have a massive local impact.

More babies are born on Parkland’s Health’s insurance plan than in eight states. Extending coverage for those families would improve outcomes for tens of thousands of women in North Texas. Groups like Dallas Area Interfaith, a non-partisan, multi-ethnic, multi-issue group of religious congregations, schools, and other non-profits in Dallas, are working to get the bill passed.

The bill would also be a boon to the state by giving the mothers access to primary care and preventing downstream costs.  “HB 12 going to save the state money,” says Dr. Barry Lachman, a pediatrician and ...DAI [leader]. “What we spend in preventive services will pay off for these mothers.”

HB 12 remains in the State Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee.

[Photo Credit: iStock]

North Texas Rep. Toni Rose's Bill Would Add Coverage for new At-Risk Mothers, Again, D Magazine [pdf]