Having a baby in Maryland

Program

Maryland Medicaid

Agency

Maryland Department of Health

Medicaid limit

264% of the poverty level

CHIP unborn-child option

Yes, at the Medicaid limit

12-month postpartum coverage since

April 1, 2022

Presumptive eligibility

Not for the pregnancy group, but hospitals can still make presumptive determinations.

Hospitals in every state may make presumptive eligibility determinations.

Maryland passed paid family and medical leave, but benefits don't start until January 2028: up to 12 weeks (24 with both recovery and bonding) at up to 90% of wages, max $1,000 a week.

Program

Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)

Legal maximum, your own health

12 weeks

Benefits start

January 1, 2028

Pay

When benefits start in January 2028: 90% of your average weekly wage up to 65% of the state average weekly wage, plus 50% of wages above that; min $50, max $1,000/week through Dec. 31, 2028, CPI-adjusted after that. No benefits are paid in 2026.

Job protection

Yes, in the FAMLI law: when leave ends, your employer must restore you to an equivalent position, and during leave can fire you only for cause. The only exception is if denying restoration is needed to prevent 'substantial and grievous economic injury' to the employer, the employer gives notice, and you then choose not to return. There is no separate job-tenure test beyond FAMLI's 680-hour eligibility rule. FAMLI runs at the same time as federal FMLA when both apply.

Who qualifies

Once benefits start, you'll need to have worked at least 680 hours in a Maryland-based job in the 4 reported calendar quarters before you apply or your leave begins (hours can come from more than one employer). There is no minimum earnings test. Covers employees of employers of any size; employers with fewer than 15 employees don't pay the employer share. Federal employees aren't covered. Self-employed Marylanders will be able to opt in later.

Notes

Payroll contributions start Jan. 1, 2027 (first payment due April 30, 2027) and benefits start January 2028 (the FAMLI homepage says 'Starting January 1, 2028'). Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. 8.3-701(a)(1), as amended by 2025 HB 102 (Ch. 363), lets claims begin on a date the Secretary announces, between Jan. 1, 2027 and Jan. 3, 2028. Some older sources give July 2027 and July 2028 dates, from a 2025 bill (SB 355) that didn't pass. No 2026 bill changed the timeline: the 2026 session's only FAMLI-related bill (HB 1579, about state personnel) was withdrawn, and the 2026 budget act (Ch. 6) has no FAMLI provisions. Maryland Labor's homepage says benefits start January 1, 2028; other pages say only 'January 2028'. The claims website is still being built, so there's no apply link yet. Parents of babies born in 2027 can take bonding leave after benefits start, as long as it's within the child's first year. Spouses can both take FAMLI at the same time, even at the same employer. Up to 12 weeks per benefit year, plus an extra 12 (24 total) if you have both your own serious health condition (e.g., pregnancy/childbirth recovery) and bonding in the same year. Contributions are 0.9% of wages up to the Social Security wage base, and employers may withhold up to half. Employers may use an approved private plan.

Checked October 2026. Amounts usually change January 1 and July 1, so confirm with the state before you plan.

In Maryland, HealthChoice health plans must cover lactation counseling as a maternity benefit for pregnant members.

Notes

Coverage comes through HealthChoice managed care, where most Maryland Medicaid members are enrolled: the Priority Partners (September 2025), UnitedHealthcare Community Plan (January 2026) and Maryland Physicians Care (December 2025) member handbooks list lactation counseling as a maternity benefit that every HealthChoice plan must cover for pregnant members. The handbooks don't name provider types, codes, settings or limits, and no fee-for-service lactation code or provider transmittal was found, so how the service is billed isn't documented. Maryland Physicians Care also offers 24/7 video lactation consultants through the Pacify app as an extra benefit.

Maryland Medicaid member information

Full-time provider prices before any subsidy, in 2022 dollars. The national median for center infant care was $12,647 a year. 24 county infant center prices were not surveyed in 2022; DOL estimated them from the price trend between other survey years.