Texas lawmakers hope to advance a series of bills addressing maternal and postpartum health care when they return to Austin Tuesday.
Some of these bills, like doula services and more up-to-date maternal mortality data, had support during the last legislative session in 2021 but didn鈥檛 get signed into law. State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, said she feels cautiously optimistic this session.
鈥淭his is an issue that we have to continue to address,鈥� Thierry said. 鈥淚 hope people don鈥檛 take their eyes off the prize and say we鈥檝e already solved maternal mortality and morbidity in Texas鈥攚e absolutely have not.鈥�
Thierry has introduced a number of bills this session seeking to address the high rates of maternal mortality in Texas, including , which would create a maternal mortality and morbidity data registry.
Other bills would require cultural competency education for physicians ( and ), and the creation of a pilot program for doula services to be covered by Medicaid ().
鈥淗ealthy moms equal healthy babies,鈥� said Rep. Thierry. 鈥淩educing maternal mortality is going to reduce infant mortality. All of the measures are directly correlated to improving the health and well-being of babies, and so the issues go hand in hand.鈥�
Another bill recommends adding more community representatives to the . The committee鈥檚 long-delayed report, released in December, showed continued racial disparities in maternal mortality in Texas, where Black pregnant people were twice as likely to die than their white counterparts.
鈥淏lack people should not just be a footnote in the report, we are the report,鈥� Rep. Thierry said.
The contributing factors for maternal mortality are complex:
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just one single event that causes this tragic death, it鈥檚 a whole confluence of events,鈥� said Jen Biundo, senior director of policy and research for Healthy Futures of Texas. 鈥淚t really shows the need for structural change in a number of areas.鈥�
Extending pregnancy Medicaid coverage
One way to address these disparities, and lower maternal mortality rates overall is after giving birth, Biundo said.
Texas lawmakers passed a bill in 2021 , but current coverage only extends two months postpartum. Multiple bills proposing an extension to a year have also been introduced this session.
鈥淎 large number of pregnancy-related deaths occur several months after delivery, related to mental health like postpartum depression, and so there鈥檚 a real need to continue that medical coverage,鈥� Biundo said.
Biundo feels hopeful about expanding pregnancy Medicaid coverage, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 always a little bit wait and see in the legislature.鈥�
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what you鈥檒l get until the session gavel鈥檚 in,鈥� she said.
Other health policy issues, like , access to gender-affirming care for trans youth, and , are also on deck for the 2023 legislative session.
The session begins Tuesday.
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