Advocacy Group Sues Calif. Over Prenatal, Postnatal Care Program's Residency Requirement

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Medical Malpractice / Litigation;  Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 30 Apr 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Maternal and Child Health Access, an advocacy group for low-income women, filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court last Thursday over a 1991 law requiring women to be state residents for six months to qualify for prenatal and postnatal health care services, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The law provides medical coverage for women who are ineligible for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, and whose incomes do not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level. Eligible women are covered during pregnancies and for 60 days after giving birth but must pay contributions of 1.5% of their household incomes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in October 2007 vetoed a bill that would have eliminated the program's residency requirement. The lawsuit argues that the residency requirement violates U.S. constitutional provisions that guarantee the right to travel between states and discriminates against new residents.

"Prenatal health care can help prevent premature delivery and low birthweight," Lynn Kersey, the group's executive director of Maternal and Child Health Access, said, adding, "To deny working women health care simply because they are new to the state endangers the health of both the mother and the child." Schwarzenegger last year said eliminating the residency requirement would cost California more than $1 million annually (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 4/27).

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