Louisiana To Expand CHIP Coverage to Low-Income Pregnant Women

Beginning Jan. 1, Louisiana will expand its CHIP program, LaCHIP, to include pregnant women in families with incomes up to two times the federal poverty level, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. Women who qualify for coverage will receive benefits throughout their pregnancies and for two months after they give birth. The program previously had covered only pregnant women under age 19. Sandra Adams, director of the Louisiana Coalition for Maternal and Child Health, said, "It's been a 'policy disconnect' to have babies eligible for Medicaid at birth and have the mother with no prenatal care." An estimated 5,500 additional women each year will qualify for coverage, according to the Department of Health and Hospitals. The state Legislature has approved $3.7 million to fund the first six months of the program. The expansion will not be fully funded until fiscal year 2003-04, the Advocate reports. DHH Secretary David Hood said the expansion "should more than pay for itself by reducing [the number of] low-birthweight" babies, who often require treatment in hospitals' intensive care units, which costs about $150,000 per infant. LaCHIP will begin accepting applications around mid-November or early December (Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate, 7/21).