Latinx & Asian Mothers & Birthing Persons Views on Medicaid Postpartum Coverage

• In Event: Health, Health Policy Design, and the Effects on Political Attitudes & Behavior

Abstract

Maternal health has long been a primary example of racial and ethnic health inequities in the United States. Maternal mortality, one of the primary measures of maternal health, is notoriously high in the US which is also the country that spends the most on healthcare broadly (Declerq & Zephyrin, 2020). The gaps in maternal mortality are even more pronounced when data is stratified across racial and ethnic groups, non-Hispanic Black mothers and birthing persons experience much higher rates of maternal mortality than their non-Hispanic White and Hispanic counterparts, see Figure 1 (Hoyert & Fryar, 2022). Despite renewed efforts to address maternal mortality and health over the last decade, little progress has been made (Collier, 2019; Declerq & Zephyrin, 2020; Neggers, 2016). The most prominent health inequity falls along the Black and White dichotomy but as data shows, Latinx and Asian mothers and birthing persons are more likely than non-Hispanic White mothers and birthing persons to be affected by maternal mortality (Collier, 2019).
Over the last few years states have begun to expand Medicaid to birthing persons for 10-12 months during their postpartum period. This study seeks to better understand the ways in which Latinx and Asian birthing persons and mothers develop attitudes and support towards Medicaid expansion related to the postpartum period. This study employs a mixed methods approach by using a series of surveys and interviews collected with community organizations in Northern California (n=75).
This exploratory study adopts several innovative components. From a theoretical perspective, this study views postpartum care through the lens of reproductive justice and gender-affirming care. The reproductive justice framework incorporates an intersectional lens to understand the unique barriers individuals may face when accessing reproductive care, in this case postnatal care resources which may impact attitudes towards expanding healthcare (Ross, 2020). This study also makes special note that not all individuals who experience birth identify as women (Brandt et al., 2019).

Author

• Maria Livaudais, California State University East Bay