Medicaid Access
Creating pathways to lactation care where coverage falls short.
Alabama Medicaid families deserve access to professional lactation care and the resources needed to support their feeding goals.
Through Medicaid Access, The Obsidian Milk Collective is building dedicated pathways to address gaps in lactation service and breast pump access for Alabama Medicaid recipients.
Professional lactation services are available now. Breast pump access is in development.
The Coverage Gap
Alabama Medicaid provides critical healthcare coverage during pregnancy and postpartum, yet professional lactation services are not currently a covered benefit.
That creates a significant gap between having healthcare coverage and having coverage for lactation care.
Families may need professional assessment and care for concerns related to feeding, milk production, pain, pumping, infant weight and milk transfer, returning to work, and other lactation needs. Because lactation care involves the parent-baby dyad, care may also require an initial visit and clinically appropriate follow-up.
OMC's Medicaid Access work exists to create pathways to this care while continuing to identify and address the systems that make those pathways necessary.
Lactation Service Access
Available Now
Alabama Medicaid recipients can request professional lactation care through OMC even though Medicaid does not currently reimburse OMC for these services.
Families receive the same individualized clinical lactation care provided throughout OMC's practice. Depending on the needs of the parent-baby dyad, care may include assessment, individualized care planning, education, documentation, follow-up, referrals, and collaboration with other healthcare professionals.
What Will I Pay?
Having Medicaid identifies your insurance coverage—it does not determine your ability to pay.
When requesting an appointment, you can indicate whether you are able to pay the full cost of care or whether cost would create a barrier to receiving services.
Families who need financial assistance may be eligible for support through the Lactation Access Fund, based on available funding and OMC's current assistance guidelines.
Why Breast Pump Access Matters
Breast pumps are not simply alternatives to feeding at the breast. For many families, they are essential tools that make lactation continuation possible.
There are many reasons a parent may need or choose to express milk. A baby may be unable to latch or transfer milk effectively. A parent may return to work or school, have a baby receiving care in the NICU, experience a hospitalization, or be temporarily or permanently separated from their baby. Families may also navigate military service, incarceration, immigration-related separation, adoption or surrogacy, or other circumstances that make feeding directly at the breast difficult or impossible.
For some families, exclusive pumping is the feeding plan they choose. That choice is equally deserving of informed, professional lactation care.
Access to an appropriate breast pump can help protect milk production, maintain lactation during separation, provide human milk when direct feeding is not possible, and give families greater flexibility in determining how lactation fits into their lives.
But access means more than simply receiving a pump.
Families also need education about selecting and using an appropriate pump, flange fit, pumping frequency, milk production, milk storage and handling, cleaning, troubleshooting, and when to seek additional clinical care.
Lactation Justice means families have access to the tools, education, and professional care they need to make informed decisions about their own lactation journey.
Breast Pump Access — In Development
OMC is developing the breast pump component of Medicaid Access to create a more comprehensive pathway for Alabama Medicaid families who need pumping support.
The goal is not simply to distribute equipment. OMC is working toward a model that connects the right pump with education, appropriate fitting, and access to professional lactation care so families are supported in actually using that equipment to meet their individual feeding goals.
Program availability, eligibility, and distribution details will be shared as this work develops.
Breast pump access through OMC is not currently available.
Built From Experience
OMC's approach to breast pump access is not starting from scratch. Our founder brings nearly three years of hands-on experience developing and implementing breast pump access work within a reproductive health organization, including helping families navigate access to pumps and the systems that shape how those resources are distributed.
That experience is now informing the development of OMC's own model, one specifically grounded in clinical lactation care and Lactation Justice.
Rather than simply recreating an existing pump distribution program, OMC is building on lessons learned through direct experience to develop a model that connects breast pump access with professional lactation care, education, appropriate fitting, and continued support.
The program is new to OMC. The work behind it is not.
From Access Gaps to Systems Change
OMC can create pathways that help families access lactation care and resources within the systems that exist today. But creating individual pathways does not eliminate the policies and coverage gaps that made them necessary.
The experiences of families receiving care, lessons learned through direct service, and OMC's work developing new access models help us identify where systems are falling short, and what needs to change.
Through Policy & Advocacy, OMC works upstream to advance sustainable solutions that improve lactation access beyond any single program, provider, or organization.