Welcome to Assembly required with Stacey Abrams from Cricket Media.

I'm your host, St Stacy Abrams. The mission of this show is to

tackle complicated, sometimes overwhelming issues with the goal of finding a way in

so we can begin to work it out.

And today is no exception.

The US is one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to have a baby,

and that's presuming you have insurance and no complications.

For everyone else the cost can be astronomical or impossible to meet.

Although private insurance plans and Medicaid are required to cover care associated with childbirth,

one in eight Americans who have medical debt say it was at least partially caused by the bills

associated with pregnancy and childbirth. But as much as money is a factor,

in the 21st century and one of the most medically advanced nations on earth,

the act of giving birth can cost more than anyone should be expected to pay.

In America, for people of color, maternal mortality and morbidity rates are on the rise,

despite advances in health care.

For black women it's devastating nationally three and a half times more likely than

their white counterparts to die during or shortly after pregnancy, but that's nationally.

When we go to certain counties and cities,

then it can be five times, ten times, fifteen times more likely their deaths than their white counterparts.

That was law professor Michelle Goodwin just last year speaking at the United States Senate

hearing.

The disparities in maternal health are stark. Among Native

...