Are you having a baby? You may get free health care if you are not a U.S. citizen. Medicaid may be able to help. Medicaid pays for health care for people who cannot afford it. Medicaid is the same as Medical Assistance.
Sign up for Medicaid as soon as you know you are pregnant. Get the care you and your baby need right away. And you may keep Medicaid up to four months after your baby is born.
Who can get Medicaid?
To be eligible, you must:
The best way to know if you can get Medicaid is to apply.
What healthcare can I get?
Medicaid will pay for:
- Doctor visits
- Prenatal visits – doctor visits to check you and baby before baby is born
- Hospital care
- Hospital stay – when you have baby
- Dental care
- Lab work and tests
- Prescription drugs – medicine from your doctor
- Mental health care
- Behavioral health care - help to stop smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs
- Transportation services - a ride to and from medical care through Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)
Starting July 1, 2023, you can apply:
Unpaid medical bills before Medicaid
Medicaid may help pay for health care you had in the three months before you applied. To learn more, talk to Maryland Health Connection, or go to your local Health Department or Department of Social Services.
Help in other languages
Learn more about this free help, see Interpreter Services or call 1-855-642-8572. TTY users call 711 for Maryland Relay.
Information for providers
Retroactive Coverage
Up to three months of retroactive coverage before the individual’s coverage start date is available but will not extend prior to the start of the pregnancy.
Benefits Package
The benefits package detailed above is identical to that available to other pregnant Medicaid members.
Timing
Coverage is available from the start of pregnancy through four months postpartum.
All postpartum follow-ups must be completed within the four month time frame
Provider resources 
