12-Month Alabama Maternity Medicaid Postpartum Coverage

Alabama Maternity Medicaid gives you full Medicaid benefits during pregnancy and for 12 months after the pregnancy ends. The 12-month extension took effect October 1, 2022.

Your coverage does not stop a few weeks after birth. You have a full year of Medicaid to use for your own recovery, mental health, prescriptions, and follow-up care — not only for the baby.

Alabama's 2026 pregnancy income limit is 146% of the federal poverty level, including the 5% disregard. By monthly household income that is $1,942 for a household of 1, $2,633 for 2, $3,324 for 3, and $4,015 for 4. Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnancy (PEP) is a separate, temporary route and does not by itself create the 12-month postpartum eligibility — a full application is required for that.

Covered care includes physician and hospital services, pharmacy, maternity care, behavioral health, transportation, family planning, and the other services Alabama Medicaid ordinarily covers.

Throughout pregnancy and for 12 months after the pregnancy ends. PEP, by contrast, is temporary ambulatory prenatal coverage only.

Alabama does not publish a single universal postpartum copay rule, so confirm any cost with Alabama Medicaid or your provider rather than assuming one exists.

Apply through Insure Alabama online, on paper, by phone at 1-800-362-1504, or in person through county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Alabama Coordinated Health Network (ACHN) offices, and some hospitals. If you used PEP for immediate prenatal care, you still need to complete the full application.

The information the Alabama Medicaid application asks for, including household income, residency, and pregnancy. Applicant forms are published in Alabama Medicaid's forms library.

PEP covers ambulatory prenatal care temporarily and does not create the 12-month postpartum year. The 12 months is tied to Maternity Medicaid eligibility, so what you have after that year depends on the review at the end of it.

Your ACHN region can help you find providers, get referrals, and connect to community needs while you are covered. Paid leave and job protection are entirely separate systems from Medicaid.

Use Alabama Medicaid's provider and maternity search, and your ACHN region for help finding a provider and arranging referrals. Rural provider supply varies, so being covered does not guarantee a nearby specialist.

Alabama Medicaid provides language assistance at no cost to you; ask when you call 1-800-362-1504 or when you apply in person.

At the end of the postpartum year Alabama evaluates other Medicaid categories, ALL Kids for your child, and Marketplace coverage. Ask about those routes before the year ends.