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1/ America's death rate for pregnant and postpartum people is among the worst of other wealthy nations. A new study shows expanding access to Medicaid could help address this national crisis. The latest from @shefalil:https://bit.ly/2ZkcGaD 

2/ A third of pregnancy-related deaths occur a week to a year after pregnancy. Most are preventable. But only if people can sustain access to preventive care, and doctors can catch problems before they spiral, Jamie Daw, the study's lead author, said.https://bit.ly/2ZkcGaD 

3/ For people who lose insurance after giving birth, catching problems before they spiral is less likely. States who opted into the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion have been shown to have 1.6 fewer deaths per 100,000 pregnant or postpartum people.https://bit.ly/2ZkcGaD 

4/ Separate research also suggests that access to postpartum care improved dramatically after Medicaid expansion — which opened up Medicaid eligibility to people earning 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or, in 2020, $36,156 for a family of four.https://bit.ly/2ZkcGaD 

5/ "Women might hesitate to access care [postpartum] — maybe they wait because of a copay, or because they're uninsured," Jamie Daw, the study's lead author, said. "We don't want them to wait."https://bit.ly/2ZkcGaD 

6/ Pregnant people can more easily qualify for Medicaid coverage, along with 2 months of postpartum insurance. After that period ends, or even before, it's a different story. Especially in states that denied the Medicaid expansion, many will lose coverage.https://bit.ly/2ZkcGaD