The bill by Democratic State Senator Noreen Evans would affect health plans on the individual market. HMO and group insurance policies are already required to include maternity coverage. Evans says it's time to make it mandatory for all plans:
"Every dollar that we put into pre-natal care saves the taxpayers up to over three dollars in neo-natal care for sick babies, so this is actually very cost-effective for the taxpayers of the state of California."
Evans says currently only 19 percent of individual market
policies include maternity coverage. She says that spreads
the risk over a smaller pool -- pricing some women out of the
market. Insurance companies have opposed similar efforts in
the past. They've argued mandates increase costs for all
patients and limit choices for consumers.