A new Mississippi law will allow earlier Medicaid coverage for pregnant women in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation’s worst rate of The “presumptive eligility” legislation signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will become law July 1. It says Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman's outpatient medical care for up to 60 days while her application for the government-funded insurance program is being considered.
Processing Medicaid applications can take weeks, and physicians say early prenatal care is vita