Every other state extends Medicaid to a full year for new moms. Why not Arkansas?
Written by Jessica Crenshaw
Arkansas doesn’t have to be first in maternal mortality or one of the worst in healthcare overall. There are obvious steps we could take to improve the lives of women and everyone living in the Natural State.
The immediate and most effective action?
Expand Medicaid for new mothers. Arkansas is still the only state that doesn’t support new mothers this way. So many maternal deaths could be avoided. Our governor only has to say, “Yes, let’s sign up for this federal program and see if it has an impact.” State staff fill out a waiver and in no time, those resources are available to new mothers. It’s that simple. If it doesn’t make an impact after five years the state could opt out. Why not try it out and see if it helps?
Or our state legislators could help, but that is a more difficult process and requires the majority of them to agree with one another. Sadly, that’s not likely, although in Arkansas, you just never know. The Arkansas Legislature could pass a bill to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to twelve months, but overriding a potential veto from the governor would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.
Last year, State Rep. Aaron Pilkington, (R-Knoxville), who sponsored the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act in the House, filed a bill to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage. It passed with strong support in the House but not in the Senate.
Are we having maternal health problems because we don’t allow Medicaid coverage for new mothers in Arkansas?
Moms in all the other forty-nine states get to stay on Medicaid for a year after giving birth and see lower maternal and infant mortality rates. Arkansas moms would like to see these benefits, too. Maternal Medicaid expansion provides funds to rural hospital maternity units and community OB-GYNs; these are the places that are closing around the state. Opting into Medicaid expansion supports new families and their health providers, boosting both the state’s physical health and its economy.
The Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that 94% of pregnancy-related deaths in the state were preventable.
There are other ways our legislators could help.
Paid family leave improves the health of parents and children and eases financial strain. Implementing comprehensive paid family and medical leave ensures working Arkansans do not have to choose between their job and their health or families.
Another obstacle for families, especially those in rural Arkansas, is affordable childcare. Thoughtful legislation could subsidize childcare administrators and prioritize childcare facilities in rural development programs. There’s proposed federal legislation that could help Arkansas communities most in need. The Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act is a bipartisan bill introduced in September 2025 that would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out an initiative to develop, expand, and improve rural childcare. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Arkansas moms deserve care.
The future of healthcare in Arkansas could be improved without any of us regular folks having to do too much, but that would require the people we elect to work together and make tough decisions that benefit hardworking Arkansans. It’s happened before. Providing Arkansas students breakfast at school every day was a more difficult task than asking the state to fill out a waiver and join the rest of the country. Arkansans want to take care of our moms.
If the maternal healthcare crisis in Arkansas concerns you, too, join forces with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
Jessica Crenshaw serves as Editor in Chief and Director of Programming at Arkansas Strong. She enjoys writing about interesting people and beautiful places in her home state. She was the Independence County 4-H BB Gun Champion in 1988 and at the age of 12 was awarded a Grand Champion prize at the Independence County Fair for her cornbread-making skills.
