Northam proposes $22M to improve maternal health outcomes

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday that his budget proposal will include about $22 million for efforts to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies and reduce the racial disparity in the state’s maternal mortality rate.

Part of the funding in the spending plan for the legislative session that begins in January would expand Medicaid coverage for new moms and increase home visits from care providers, said Northam, who was surrounded by advocates holding babies and young children as he spoke in Richmond. The plan also would fund access to long-term contraceptives for low-income patients and study the possibility of Medicaid reimbursement for doula services.

“It is unacceptable that in this country and in our Commonwealth maternal mortality rates are on the rise,” he said. “This disparity is greatest among black women, who have a maternal mortality rate two times that of white women, regardless of education or income status.”

Northam, a Democrat, established a new initiative in June intended to reduce the maternal mortality rate for black women. He said the budget proposals grew out of that work, which included a series of public input session held around the state.

“Our goal is that every mother and every infant survive” to celebrate the baby’s first birthday together, said Northam, a pediatric neurologist.

The governor’s budget includes nearly $4 million over two fiscal years to expand Medicaid coverage for women who are eligible only while they are pregnant. Coverage for those women currently extends 60 days from the end of a pregnancy. The additional funding would extend coverage until a year post-pregnancy and cover treatment for substance use disorders.

State figures show the majority of pregnancy-associated deaths occurred more than 43 days from the end of...