(Radio Iowa) – A change for women on Medicaid now gives them coverage for 12 months after giving birth compared to the previous postpartum coverage of two months. The chair of the U-i Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Christian Pettker, says many serious issues can come up beyond the first two months postpartum. “That includes hypertension, diabetes, mental health disorders. So extending it out another 12 months gives the person and the care team time to develop a longitudinal care plan,” he says.

Pettker says it is very important to monitor these issues following the delivery. “We could start somebody off on a plan, but oftentimes that plan has to change as they recover from their childbirth and they adapt to their new life with a child and, and with their family,” he says.

Iowa was one of the last states to approve the extension last legislative session after the federal government started offering permanent matching funds to states that did so. And Iowa lawmakers lowered the income cutoff for women to qualify for Medicaid. It was 375 percent of the federal poverty level. Now it’s 215 percent.