Huntsville-area legislator proposes bill to speed access to prenatal care
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Huntsville-area Representative Marilyn Lands has introduced a bill aimed at ensuring expectant mothers have access to health care, as soon as possible.
The measure has a number of bipartisan co-sponsors and is aimed at speeding up access to maternal care through Medicaid for low-income mothers. The current system often has delays before care can start, this could change that.
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Lands, a Democrat who represents House District 10, said the measure is aimed at improving care for expectant mothers. She said the bill would provide 'presumptive eligibility to Medicaid for pregnant women.'
Lands said Alabama has horrendous numbers when it comes to prenatal care,with 11 percent of expectant mothers never receiving that care. Many others don't see a doctor, she said, until the second or third trimester. and it takes aim at a classic Catch-22 on Medicaid eligibility.
'A woman has to have a letter from a physician verifying her pregnancy,' Lands said. 'And you can't get into a physician if you don't have money to pay for that appointment without Medicaid.'
Lands said county health departments do a good job and can provide pregnancy verification, but it may take weeks to find an open appointment date.
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'There are delays in proving that you're eligible for Medicaid but also that pregnancyverification,' she said.
House Bill 89 would speed up the process.
'The bill would begin prenatal care and give the mother 60 days to prove eligibility,' Lands said.
Lands also stressed said early prenatal care is vital.
'It is so important that we get women in right away so they understand the importance of prenatal care, the importance of vitamins and nutrition and that we're able to identify any pre-existing conditions,' she said. 'High blood pressure, diabetes, preeclampsia, all of those things, the earlier we identify the more we can treat those and we can have better outcomes for moms and babies.'
She says the bill has drawn bipartisan support, with a colleague calling it 'pro-life.'
The legislative fiscal note says it will increase Medicaid costs by $1 million annually, most of the money is projected to come from the federal government and about $273,000 more from the state.
'I think the benefits far outweigh the costs, thinking about what it costs for a baby to be in the NICU, and just reducing that by a fraction creates enormous savings for us all.
Alabama's infant mortality rate and maternal death rate are among the worst in the U.S., figures show.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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