Pregnancy As a Recognized Event for Nondiscriminatory Treatment (PARENT) Act.

Senator Wahab's PARENT Act would establish pregnancy as a qualifying event for health insurance enrollment and prohibit discrimination in coverage based on circumstances of conception, including surrogacy arrangements. The legislation amends California's Health and Safety Code and Insurance Code to require health plans and insurers to allow individuals to enroll in or modify their coverage when they become pregnant, extending these rights to both the pregnant individual's dependents and those upon whom they are dependent.

Starting January 1, 2026, the bill would prohibit health plans and insurers from seeking reimbursement for maternity services or newborn and pediatric care when an enrollee acts as a gestational carrier. Plans and insurers would be barred from denying coverage or discriminating against enrollees, their newborns, or healthcare providers based on how a pregnancy was conceived. The legislation defines maternity services to include prenatal care, ambulatory care, pregnancy complications, neonatal care, inpatient hospital care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care.

The measure builds upon existing state law that requires health plans to allow enrollment changes following certain life events and prohibits excessive cost-sharing for maternity services. By classifying willful violations as crimes under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act, the bill would establish a state-mandated local program, though it specifies that no reimbursement to local agencies would be required under the California Constitution.