A version of this blog post originally appeared on Cover Texas Now.

The American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that President Biden just signed, will take big steps to reduce poverty, support early childhood, and provide significant support to Texans in numerous ways.

We’re thrilled to see that it includes several steps to ensure more of us have access to affordable health insurance. Here’s a quick look at three health coverage provisions we’re particularly excited about.

For Texans to benefit from the following two health care provisions of the relief package, state leaders must take action:

The relief package makes it easier for Texas to allow mothers to keep their Medicaid insurance for a full 12 months after pregnancy rather than just 2 months. Under the federal relief bill, if the Legislature passes one of the bills filed to take this step, Texas can implement the policy without the long negotiation process with the federal government that was previously required. During the pandemic Public Health Emergency (PHE), Texas is temporarily allowing mothers to keep their insurance beyond the state’s typical two-month cut-off, but if the Legislature doesn’t pass a bill this session, once the PHE is over the state will resume the practice of ending Medicaid health insurance for moms two months after childbirth. Providing 12 months of postpartum insurance to moms would implement the first recommendation of the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, address the costs of untreated postpartum depression described in Mathematica’s recent report on Texas, and support infants and toddlers during the critical early years of brain development, among other benefits.

The relief package also makes Medicaid expansion an even better deal for states like Texas that have not implemented the policy yet. “Medicaid expansion” refers to the opportunity for states to use federal funds to provide an insurance option for all legally present adults under 138% of the poverty level, not just moms for one year after pregnancy. The new federal package offers Texas an additional $3-6 billion over two years if our Legislature moves forward with expansion. More details are available from Every Texan. In light of this new opportunity for Texas, we strongly urge previously skeptical state leaders to give Medicaid expansion a second look during this legislative session!

Texans will also benefit from this health care provision, which does not require action from state leaders:

The package makes insurance on HealthCare.Gov much more affordable. It significantly reduces monthly costs for people with low and moderate incomes and people receiving unemployment insurance benefits this year. It also helps substantially reduce costs for people with somewhat higher incomes who didn’t get help with costs in the past. You can sign up for insurance on HealthCare.Gov for this year, and work with a community group to explore your options, until May 15.

However, reduced-price insurance on HealthCare.Gov is generally only available to people ABOVE the poverty line. To provide an affordable health coverage option to Texans with jobs below the poverty line that do not offer insurance, the Legislature must draw down Medicaid expansion funding.

More details on these and other health care provisions from the relief package are discussed in this new policy brief from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that our Legislature and Governor take advantage of these new opportunities!