How Many Women Are Uninsured when Giving Birth?

Not many, thanks to Medicaid. That's because low-income women become eligible for Medicaid when they become pregnant. With the average hospital delivery costing roughly $10,000, Medicaid is a financial life saver—not to mention the medical benefits. Among women who gave birth in 2009, take a look at how their health insurance status changed from the month before they became pregnant to the day of delivery...

• The percentage of women with no health insurance fell from 23.4% in the month before they became pregnant to just 1.5% on the day of delivery. 
• The percentage of women with Medicaid coverage climbed from 16.6% in the month before they became pregnant to 43.9% on the day of delivery.
• The percentage of women with private health insurance fell slightly, from 59.9% in the month before they became pregnant to 54.6% on the day of delivery.

Source: CDC, Patterns of Health Insurance Coverage Around the Time of Pregnancy among Women with Live-Born Infants—Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 29 States, 2009