Rural and Urban Differences in Insurance Coverage at Prepregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum.

To measure insurance coverage at prepregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and insurance coverage continuity across these periods among rural and urban U.S. residents. We performed a pooled, cross-sectional analysis of survey data from 154,992 postpartum individuals in 43 states and two jurisdictions that participated in the 2016-2019 PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System). We calculated unadjusted estimates of insurance coverage (Medicaid, commercial, or uninsured) during three periods (prepregnancy, birth, and postpartum), as well as insurance continuity across these periods among rural and urban U.S. residents. We conducted subgroup analyses to compare uninsurance rates among rural and urban residents by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. We used logistic regression models to generate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for each comparison. Rural residents experienced greater odds of uninsurance in each period and continuous uninsurance across all three periods, compared with their urban counterparts. Uninsurance was higher among rural residents compared with urban residents during prepregnancy (15.4% vs 12.1%; aOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.11-1.28], at birth (4.6% vs 2.8%; aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.41-1.82), and postpartum (12.7% vs 9.8%, aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.17-1.38]. In each period, rural residents who were non-Hispanic White, married, and with intended pregnancies experienced greater adjusted odds of uninsurance compared with their urban counterparts. Rural-urban differences in uninsurance persisted across both Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states, and among those with varying levels of education and income. Rural inequities in perinatal coverage were experienced by Hispanic, English-speaking, and Indigenous individuals during prepregnancy and at birth. Perinatal uninsurance disproportionately affects rural residents, compared with urban residents, in the 43 states examined. Differential insurance coverage may have important implications for addressing rural-urban inequities in maternity care access and maternal health.

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Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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Financial Disclosure Lindsay K. Admon reports receiving consulting fees from the NIMHD, grant UG3HD1080053 (PI Bauer) and grant R01MD016892 (PI Peet); HRSA, grant No. U1CRH03717 (PI Kozhimannil); the Commonwealth Fund, grant 20224055 (PI Gordon); and Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) Consulting. The following entities paid consulting fees to her institution's department: Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ACOG Health Policy Division, and the Commonwealth Fund. The other authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest.