Medicaid, the state–federal health insurance program for low-income people, provides a safety net for women throughout their lives. States that participated in the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion saw improvements in maternal and newborn mortality, decreases in uninsured rates, and lower racial disparities in these indicators when compared to non expansion states. In addition to advocating for policies that increase access to Medicaid, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly supports education for its members, other obstetricians–gynecologists, and other health care practitioners about the complex Medicaid regulatory system, and it encourages advocacy for policies that increase access to care for all women.
This Committee Opinion has been updated to stress the importance of Medicaid in improving women’s health, the history and growth of Medicaid, including the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, and the processes through which changes to the Medicaid program might occur, with pertinent examples for each.
