Pregnant Women are Often Uninsured and Go Without Needed Care in Abortion-Ban States, Study Shows

Pregnant women are more often uninsured and have worse access to routine medical care in states that ban (or restrict) abortion care, according to a new study appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, from researchers at Harvard Medical School, the City University of New York’s Hunter College, and other institutions. The researchers also link the deficiencies in pregnancy coverage and care to abortion-ban/restriction states’ skimpy Medicaid programs.

The study analyzed data on 20,919 pregnant women who participated in the 2014-2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a health survey led by the CDC and state health departments. It assessed how many pregnant women were uninsured, were unable to afford a doctor’s visit in the past year, or lacked a personal healthcare provider, and compared states that have imposed abortion restrictions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 to other states.

The researchers found that 258,362 pregnant women in the US lacked health coverage in 2022, 62% of whom lived in abortion-ban states. The three states where the largest share of pregnant women lacked coverage were Texas (21.0%), Arkansas (18.8%), and Florida (18.6%) – all of which are abortion-ban/restriction states. Nationwide, pregnant women in abortion ban/restriction states (compared to other states) were significantly more likely to be uninsured (15.0% vs. 9.9), unable to afford physician care (19.5% vs. 13.1%), and to lack a personal healthcare provider (29.2% vs. 21.5%).

The study also identified pregnant women with chronic illnesses that require careful medical treatment to reduce maternal and infant health risks. Women who had diabetes before becoming pregnant more often lacked a personal doctor in abortion-restriction states, and those who developed diabetes during their pregnancies were more likely to be uninsured or to have gone without doctor care.
The researchers assessed whether differences in the generosity of states’ Medicaid programs explained why abortion ban/restriction states had worse access to pregnancy care. They found that worse access was almost entirely explained by three Medicaid policies:

1. Failure to implement the ACA’s Medicaid Expansion;

2. Banning Medicaid coverage for pregnant immigrants who were documented for less than 5 years; and

3. Setting a relatively stringent income threshold for Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women.

These findings suggest that worse access to care in abortion-ban states is mostly driven by those states’ stingy Medicaid policies, and that the deep Medicaid cuts included in the Republican budget bill could worsen care for many pregnant women. AlphaGalileo/SP