Most, if not all, states have a portion of their Medicaid program that is designed to cover the health care and medical bills of women who are pregnant. In New Mexico, the program is called the Family Planning Waiver. New Mexico also has a Birthing Options Program for women who are eligible for Medicaid.
Medicaid is a program that is designed to cover the health care needs of people who are low-income and who cannot afford to purchase a health insurance plan from a private company. Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. The program is funded, in part, by the federal government, and in part by the government of an individual state.
On August 1, 2012, a federal law that is part of the Affordable Care Act went into affect. All health insurance plans purchased on that date, or after that date, must cover women’s preventative care without charging a co-pay, co-insurance, or deductible. This covers things like well-women visits, screening for gestational diabetes, contraception, and more. Current health plans must start covering these benefits for women when their plan renews.
Women who are uninsured cannot receive these benefits. Instead, women might be eligible for coverage through a state’s Medicaid program. In New Mexico, that program is called the Family Planning Waiver. It extends Medicaid eligibility for family planning services for a 12 month period to all women who are between the ages of 18 and 50.
To be eligible, the woman must be living in a household that has an income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. A woman who is already covered by another form of health insurance is not eligible for the Family Planning Waiver. Women who have had a sterilization procedure preformed prior to application for the Family Planning Waiver are also not eligible.
The Family Planning Waiver covers services that are “provided to prevent or delay pregnancy or to otherwise control family size”. It includes coverage for lab tests, medical procedures, and pharmaceutical supplies and devices that are covered if provided for family planning purposes. This means things like birth control, regular reproductive health exams and screenings, sterilizations, and more.
New Mexico also has a Birthing Options program. Women who are eligible for Medicaid, and who are pregnant, are eligible for this program. It covers prenatal care, nutritional counseling, childbirth education, birthing services for labor and delivery, postpartum care, breastfeeding counseling, reproductive health, family planning, and pharmacy services.
Image by Omer Ziv on Flickr