Once again, Governor Schawrzenegger rejected legislation that would move California towards healthcare equity for women and their families by vetoing Assembly Bill 98 by Asm. Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate). This bill would have required all individual health insurance products regulated under the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to cover maternity services, as is currently required for HMO’s regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care. Currently, only 22% of enrollees in CDI- regulated policies in the individual market offer maternity benefits.
“AB 98 would have ensured that maternity care is part of preventative health care for women. This disgraceful veto allows the insurance cartel to continue discriminating against women who are pregnant,” said Patty Bellasalma, President of the California, National Organization for Women.
If you think insurance companies would never do that, you're wrong.
For women, like Joanna Joshua, the mother of two pictured here, it was very difficult for to find a fair and affordable health insurance to cover pregnancy through the open market.
In addition to paying her insurance premium, she had to take a cash advance on her credit card to pay the $10,000 deductible. She had about 25 different bills coming in from different types of medical providers. It was not clear the $10,000 deductible covered and what the insurance company was responsible for.
“It was difficult to tell what was in network and what was out of network,” Joanna explained.
Even after she paid the deductible, bills still kept coming in and Blue Shield of CA refused to cover them, claiming that they were not covered benefits.
In addition, Joanna's son, Dylan, was born premature almost two months early because Joanna suffered from preeclampsia and the only way to prevent her from having a stroke was to deliver Dylan early through an emergency C-Section.
“My son Dylan was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for three weeks. When I brought him home from the hospital he was only four pounds. Instead of focusing my energy on my health and the health of my son, I was forced to fight with Blue Shield of CA to cover the medical bills,” Joanna added.
We cannot allow another legislative session to go by without correcting this gender-based inequity. If politicians claim to care about children, maternity care must be fully covered in every health plan!
“Women have made great strides in advancing equal rights in the workplace, our courts and home,” said Assemblymember De La Torre. “With this veto, the Governor told Californians, especially women, that insurance companies are more important that prenatal lifesaving care.”
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