[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2085 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2085
To require 12-month continuous, full benefit coverage for pregnant
individuals under Medicaid and CHIP, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 16, 2025
Mr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require 12-month continuous, full benefit coverage for pregnant
individuals under Medicaid and CHIP, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Postpartum Lifeline Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRING 12-MONTH CONTINUOUS, FULL BENEFIT COVERAGE FOR
PREGNANT INDIVIDUALS UNDER MEDICAID AND CHIP.
(a) Medicaid.--Section 1902 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396a) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (10), in the matter following
subparagraph (G), by striking ``(VII) the medical
assistance made available to an individual described in
subsection (l)(1)(A) who is eligible for medical
assistance only because of subparagraph (A)(i)(IV) or
(A)(ii)(IX) shall be limited to medical assistance for
services related to pregnancy (including prenatal,
delivery, postpartum, and family planning services),
medical assistance for services related to other
conditions which may complicate pregnancy, and medical
assistance for vaccines described in section
1905(a)(4)(E) and the administration of such vaccines
during the period described in such section,'' and
inserting ``(VII) [Repealed],'';
(B) in paragraph (86), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (87)(D), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (87) the following
new paragraph:
``(88) provide that the State plan is in compliance with
subsection (e)(16).''; and
(2) in subsection (e)(16)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``At the
option of the State, the State plan (or waiver of such
State plan) may provide'' and inserting ``A State plan
(or waiver of such State plan) shall provide'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), in the matter preceding
clause (i), by striking ``by a State making an election
under this paragraph'' and inserting ``under a State
plan (or a waiver of such State plan)''; and
(C) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) by striking ``A State making an
election under this paragraph'' and inserting
``In the case of a State''; and
(ii) by striking ``shall also make the
election'' and inserting ``the State shall
provide coverage''.
(b) CHIP.--
(1) In general.--Subparagraph (J) of section 2107(e)(1) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397gg(e)(1)), as
redesignated by section 105, is amended to read as follows:
``(J) Paragraphs (5) and (16) of section 1902(e)
(relating to the requirement to provide medical
assistance under the State plan or waiver consisting of
full benefits during pregnancy and throughout the 12-
month period that begins on the last day of the
individual's pregnancy and ends on the last day of the
month in which such 12-month period ends).''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 2112(d)(2)(A) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ll(d)(2)(A)) is amended by
striking ``the month in which the 60-day period'' and all that
follows through ``pursuant to section 2107(e)(1),''.
(c) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the
amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on
the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter that begins on or after
the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(2) Exception for state legislation.--In the case of a
State plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act or a
State child health plan under title XXI of such Act that the
Secretary of Health and Human Services determines requires
State legislation in order for the respective plan to meet any
requirement imposed by amendments made by this subsection, the
respective plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with
the requirements of such title solely on the basis of its
failure to meet such an additional requirement before the 1st
day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the close of
the 1st regular session of the State legislature that begins
after the date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of the
previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year
legislative session, each year of the session shall be
considered to be a separate regular session of the State
legislature.
(3) State option for earlier effective date.--A State may
elect to have subsection (e)(16) of section 1902 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a) and subparagraph (J) of section
2107(e)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397gg(e)(1)),
as amended by this section, take effect with respect to the
State on the 1st day of any fiscal quarter that begins before
the date described in paragraph (1) and apply to amounts
payable to the State for expenditures for medical assistance,
child health assistance, or pregnancy-related assistance to
pregnant or postpartum individuals furnished on or after such
day.
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