Lawmakers in several conservative-led states—including Montana, Wyoming, Missouri and Mississippi—are expected to consider proposals to provide a year of continuous health coverage to new mothers enrolled in Medicaid.

Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide are guaranteed continuous postpartum coverage during the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. But momentum has been building for states to extend the default 60-day required coverage period ahead of the emergency’s eventual end. Approximately 42% of births nationwide are covered under Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people, and extending postpartum coverage aims to reduce the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and illnesses by ensuring that new mothers’ medical care isn’t interrupted.

The push comes as a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act makes extending postpartum Medicaid coverage easier because states no longer need to apply for a waiver. A renewed focus on maternal health amid high U.S. maternal mortality rates also is driving the proposals, as is the expectation that more women will need postpartum care as state abortion bans proliferate in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate federal protections.

Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C., have already extended, or plan to extend, postpartum eligibility in their Medicaid programs. That number includes Texas and Wisconsin, which did not implement the ARPA provision but have proposed limited extensions of...

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