This spring, for the first time in Georgia, eligible patients with health insurance through Medicaid can get coverage for breastfeeding support services via telemedicine. Maternal health advocates say the change would help improve access to lactation care statewide.
Georgia’s Medicaid program had previously reimbursed for lactation services but only for patients who saw a practitioner in person for their appointments. The requirement kept the services hard to come by for some, especially in rural Georgia, said Amanda Minimi, with in-network provider Aeroflow Health.
“By giving moms better support systems we’re boosting confidence, not just in breastfeeding, but also in just having conversations with your physicians, explaining what is normal, what’s abnormal, when you should seek help and just giving them more of a peer support, which is really critical for her overall success in birth and birth outcomes,” said Minimi, who is part of a coalition of maternal and infant health advocates that have pushed for the state to expand lactation coverage to telehealth appointments.
Now, under a policy update, eligible Georgia Medicaid patients can receive covered lactation support via telehealth — after first completing an initial consultation with a provider in person, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health.
Medicaid covers nearly half of all births in Georgia, a Georgia Health Initiative analysis of state data found.
And under Gov. Brian Kemp’s recent expansion of pregnancy Medicaid coverage, it continues up to a year following childbirth.
Breastfeeding is associated with numerous benefits to maternal and infant health, including lowering the risk for some cancers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or ACOG, recommends, “exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, with continued breastfeeding while complementary foods are introduced during the infant’s first year of life, or longer, as mutually desired by the woman and her infant.”
Still, ACOG reports that while most infants are breastfed after birth, about two-thirds of women wean earlier than intended, including related to challenges such as physical difficulties with breastfeeding, and limited paid maternity leave.
The association stresses the importance of education and lactation support during pregnancy and after childbirth for all women.
Georgia Medicaid’s coverage for telehealth lactation services took effect April 1, 2026.
More than a third of counties in Georgia lack maternal health providers, according to the March of Dimes.
Minimi said the option for telehealth appointments would help many postpartum Georgians living in maternity care deserts.
“In a state where 120 of the 159 counties are classified as rural, it really meant that there was a lack of access. So we’re so excited for the state Medicaid program to recognize that telehealth is a way for patients to receive the care that they actually need,” she said.
All 50 states allow Medicaid to reimburse for some level of telehealth visits, but what specific types of providers and services are eligible for the reimbursements vary from state to state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Editor’s note: An original version of this story was corrected to clarify that eligible Medicaid patients who opt for covered telehealth lactation support can do so after first completing an initial face-to-face lactation consultation with a provider.
