FRANKFORT, Ky. (WSAZ) – More than a dozen laws go into effect this week across the Commonwealth. One of those laws aims to expand health care access for new or expecting mothers.
The new law took effect on Monday and aims to support maternal and infant health to reduce the high mortality rate for mothers in Kentucky.
“We’re investing something into their maternal health because we are in a crisis as a state. We are always either 1-5 on maternal mortality,” said Alexa Scisney, the founder and Executive Director of Granny’s Birth Initiative.
Scisney worked as a doula for several years and said she’s heard first-hand from mothers about the issues they face.
A key part of the law now determines pregnancy as a qualifying life event for health insurance coverage, including prenatal and postnatal care, which sometimes is not covered by insurance.
“It allows moms to seek out the prenatal care that is so crucial. If there’s a problem or issue, they can work with their physician or midwife or their nurse practitioner, whoever the provider is, to help mitigate that so we can get Mom to that 37- or 39-week mark,“ said Nikki Boyd, the director of Maternal and Infant Health for March of Dimes.
The law also establishes a hotline called the Kentucky Lifeline for Moms, which will serve as a psychiatric access program to connect mothers with mental health treatment and resources.
“It can mean the difference between life or death, quite literally. Because we are implementing this lifeline as a direct connection to that mental health treatment,” Moser said.
Other sections will require Medicaid services to cover lactation consulting, breastfeeding equipment, and in-home and telehealth services.
Copyright 2024 WSAZ. All rights reserved.