Policy Pick: AB 98 Maternity ServicesApril 20, 2009 |
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 Ensuring women have access to affordable, quality, maternity care that includes a comprehensive set of services such as prenatal and postpartum care is crucial to healthy outcomes for newborns. Unfortunately, private insurers increasingly are excluding maternity care from basic individual plan benefits. The exclusion of maternity coverage for young women pushes many of them into state and county-funded programs, such as Medi-CAL and Access to Infants and Mothers (AIM). In 2007, about 700 women were enrolled in health insurance policies that did not cover maternity benefits, according to AIM. In addition, almost 1,200 women were enrolled in policies that covered maternity services but these policies were inadequate or carried high deductibles. AB 98, sponsored by the California Commission on the Status of Women and authored by Assembly Member Hector de la Torre (D - South Gate) will address this health insurance parity issue for women of childbearing age. AB 98 will require all individual and group health insurance policies regulated under the California Department of Insurance to cover maternity services. Health insurance plans regulated by the California Department of Managed Health Care are already required to include maternity services in any policy they offer. AB 98 brings these two bodies of law into conformity. Women must get proper medical attention throughout their pregnancy. Maternity care reduces birth complications and saves long term costs of pre-term births. The average health care costs during the first year of life, including in-patient and out-patient care, are almost 10 times higher for a premature baby than a full term birth. Increasing access to affordable, high quality maternity care is a policy priority articulated on First 5 LA's Public Policy Agenda. AB 98 will facilitate First 5 LA's goal of providing access to maternity care for all women. For more information on AB 98, please call Palanda Brownlow at (213) 482-7579. |
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