S 4913: MOMMIES Act

S 4913 in plain English: This bill is early in the legislative process and detailed text is not yet available. Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D) · Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to improve Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for low-income mothers by extending postpartum health coverage from 60 days to a full year after pregnancy ends, requiring full benefits during that period, and mandating coverage of oral health services for pregnant and postpartum individuals.

Arguments supporters make

• Extending coverage to a full year gives new mothers time to address postpartum health issues — including depression, infection, and other complications — that often appear weeks or months after birth, when current coverage runs out.
• The first year after birth is when many maternal deaths and serious health crises occur; keeping mothers covered during this window could reduce preventable deaths and hospitalizations.
• Adding dental coverage addresses a documented gap, since poor oral health during and after pregnancy is linked to complications for both mother and baby.

Arguments opponents make

• Mandating a full year of postpartum coverage significantly raises costs for both the federal government and states, which must find funding at a time when Medicaid budgets are already under pressure.
• Many states already have the option to extend postpartum coverage to 12 months under existing law; a federal mandate removes state flexibility to tailor programs to their own budgets and populations.
• Critics may argue that expanding Medicaid eligibility periods further deepens reliance on a government program rather than encouraging transitions to employer-sponsored or marketplace insurance coverage.

Tradeoffs

Broader and longer coverage for low-income mothers comes at a higher cost to federal and state budgets, and the federal mandate trades away state flexibility in designing their own Medicaid programs in exchange for a uniform national coverage floor.

Current status in Congress: In committee.