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San Diego, CA 92120-2705

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California was brought into compliance with the federal maternity length of stay bill with the signing into law of Assembly Bill (AB) 38.

The state bill, which was sponsored by Richard Figueroa, principle consultant to the California State Committee on Insurance, establishes standards for minimum hospital stays for mothers and their newborn babies.

Health plans are now prohibited from restricting benefits for any hospital maternity patient to less than 48 hours in the case of a non-cesarean birth or 96 hours in the case of a cesarean birth.

The law also prohibits health plans from requiring medical providers to request additional authorizations for the length of hospital stay covered by this bill.

Finally, AB 38 requires the health plan to cover a follow-up visit for a mother and newborn within 48 hours of discharge from the hospital if the treating physician orders this visit