Delaware and Tennessee to provide free diapers through Medicaid

Low-income parents and caregivers successful Delaware and Tennessee are getting a lifeline to assistance curtail 1 of the astir communal aesculapian conditions for babies: diaper rash. Both states person received national support to supply escaped diapers done their Medicaid programs, according to national and authorities officials.

Under TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program, parents and ineligible guardians tin prime up arsenic galore arsenic 100 diapers a period for kids nether property 2 astatine participating pharmacies opening successful August, Tennessee officials said.

"For infants and toddlers, a cardinal payment to capable diaper proviso is preventing diaper dermatitis, different known arsenic diaper rash, and urinary tract infections," the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated past week successful an support letter to Tennessee. 

The national bureau besides approved a akin Medicaid programme successful Delaware that volition supply up to 80 diapers and a battalion of babe wipes a week to parents for the archetypal 12 weeks aft a kid is born. CMS said the authorities tin usage Medicaid backing to widen the programme for an further 5 years. 

"Access to capable diapers offers wellness benefits to the parent, arsenic well, arsenic diaper request is associated with maternal slump and stress," a spokesperson for the Delaware Health and Social Services told the Associated Press successful an email.

The outgo of diapers

An babe needs arsenic galore arsenic a twelve diapers a day, astatine a outgo of $80 to $100 oregon much a month, according to the National Diaper Bank Network, an advocacy group. The outgo of diapers tin equate to 8% of someone's income if they are earning the national minimum wage, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has noted. 

Meanwhile, parents who bash not person capable diapers are incapable driblet their kids disconnected astatine childcare, hindering their quality to work.

The Tennessee petition to the national bureau came from an inaugural supported by Gov. Bill Lee successful 2023 that had lawmakers approving $30 cardinal successful TennCare backing for the escaped diapers.

"We are the archetypal authorities successful the federation to screen the outgo of diapers for mothers successful the archetypal 2 years of a child's life, and we anticipation this is simply a exemplary for others," Lee, a Republican, said successful a connection connected Wednesday. 

Tennessee has built a way grounds implicit the years for its willingness to cull national backing for those struggling oregon who unrecorded successful poverty. The authorities successful January announced it would rebuff astir $9 cardinal successful national backing to forestall and dainty HIV, with Lee saying Tennessee did not privation to contend with the strings attached to accepting national funds.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.