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2024 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 135
BY SENATOR DUPLESSIS
MEDICAID. Requires the Department of Health to amend the Medicaid state plan to include
certain additional pregnancy and postpartum coverage. (7/1/25)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 46:447.2(B)(1), to enact R.S. 46:447.2(A)(3) through (9), and
3 to repeal R.S. 46:447.2(F), relative to pregnancy and postpartum Medicaid coverage;
4 to provide for legislative findings; to require coverage for certain women; to repeal
5 outdated provisions; to provide for an effective date; and to provide for related
6 matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 46:447.2(B)(1) is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
9 46:447.2(A)(3) through (9) are hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 ยง447.2. Pregnant women and infants; access to health care; expansion of Medicaid
11 eligibility
12 A. The legislature hereby finds and declares that:
13 * * *
14 (3) Louisiana has one of the highest maternal death rates in the United
15 States.
16 (4) Low-income women are more at risk for maternal morbidity and
17 mortality, which are illnesses or disabilities that can shorten life expectancy or
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 135
SLS 24RS-455 DRAFT
1 result in death, than women who are not low-income.
2 (5) Seventy percent of women enrolled in Medicaid encounter a health
3 issue after delivery and two-thirds of pregnancy-associated mortality is between
4 forty-three days to one year after pregnancy.
5 (6) The cost of maternal morbidity to the state is so significant that
6 Louisiana was the first state in the nation to implement continuous postpartum
7 Medicaid coverage for pregnant women.
8 (7) Improving access to healthcare through continuous postpartum
9 coverage in Medicaid improves outcomes through use of outpatient care,
10 particularly for women with severe maternal morbidity.
11 (8) Some pregnant women enrolled in Louisiana Medicaid or LaCHIP
12 may be excluded from access to postpartum coverage and care based on the
13 federal eligibility categories used in the Louisiana Medicaid state plan.
14 (9) Amending the Louisiana Medicaid state plan to minimize disruptions
15 in care for pregnant women after birth through existing federal flexibilities
16 under Medicaid and CHIP will ensure access to life-saving and cost-effective
17 postpartum care.
18 B. The department shall amend the Medicaid state plan to provide for:
19 (1) Eligibility for Medicaid services and twelve months postpartum
20 Medicaid coverage for all pregnant women with an income of up to one hundred
21 eighty-five percent of the applicable federal poverty guideline as published in the
22 Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
23 * * *
24 Section 2. R.S. 46:447.2(F) is hereby repealed.
25 Section 3. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Amanda Trapp.
DIGEST
SB 135 Draft 2024 Regular Session Duplessis
Present law provides legislative findings regarding pregnancy and access to prenatal care.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 135
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Proposed law adds legislative findings relative to maternal morbidity, current Medicaid
policy, and postpartum health care coverage.
Present law requires the Louisiana Department of Health to amend the Medicaid state plan
to provide for Medicaid services eligibility for all pregnant women with income of up to
185% of the federal poverty level.
Proposed law requires eligibility for twelve months postpartum Medicaid coverage for all
pregnant women covered under proposed law.
Proposed law repeals an outdated provision that present law shall not be implemented unless
the department can finance the expansion through self-generated revenues.
Effective July 1, 2025.
(Amends R.S. 46:447.2(B)(1); adds R.S. 46:447.2(A)(3)-(9); repeals R.S. 46:447.2(F))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.