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 while prohibiting discrimination against gestational carriers in California's individual health insurance market. The legislation requires health plans and insurers to allow individuals to enroll in or change their coverage when they become pregnant, extending these rights to both the pregnant person's dependents and those to whom they are a dependent.

Starting January 1, 2026, the bill would bar health plans and insurers from denying coverage or seeking reimbursement for maternity, newborn, and pediatric care services based on an enrollee acting as a gestational carrier. The prohibition applies to all circumstances of conception and extends protections against discrimination to enrollees, their newborns, and healthcare providers.

The measure amends both the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act and parallel sections of the Insurance Code to ensure consistent implementation across California's health insurance market. For purposes of the law, maternity services include prenatal care, labor and delivery, postpartum care, neonatal care, and treatment of pregnancy complications. The provisions apply to health plans and insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed after the effective date.