In 2010, Medicaid covered the costs of roughly 48 percent of all births in the United States, according to a study in Women's Health Issues.
Researchers from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the March of Dimes said that figure was up significantly from 2008, when Medicaid covered 40 percent of all births.
Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, researchers also found that Medicaid covered far more births in southern states, which tend to be poorer, than northeastern and northwestern states. For example, Medicaid financed almost 70 percent of births in Louisiana compared with 27 percent in Massachusetts.
Researchers said the data were worth noting as states prepare to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A vast majority of women covered by Medicaid (72 percent) are considered to be in their reproductive years. For states that expand Medicaid, women will have access to coverage before and between pregnancies, which could help improve the mother's health as well as health outcomes for infants.
"Improved birth outcomes could translate into substantial cost savings because the costs associated with preterm births are estimated to be 10 times greater than those for full-term births," the researchers wrote.
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