Perinatal health screenings and treatment

It requires clearer pathways from screening to clinical evaluation and treatment for people with maternal mental health conditions. Health plans and insurers must build these activities into their existing quality and population-health programs.

What the law does ​

• Requires prenatal, postpartum, and perinatal care practitioners to offer or provide appropriate maternal mental-health screening.
• Requires practitioners to ensure a patient who screens positive is offered or receives a clinical evaluation and, if diagnosed, is offered or provided treatment within the practitioner's scope of practice.
• Allows practitioners to meet these duties by referring patients to another qualified licensed practitioner.
• Requires health plans and insurers to screen during pregnancy and one or more times postpartum under applicable clinical guidelines and standards of care.
• Requires plans and insurers to provide case management or care coordination under their existing programs for enrollees or insureds who screen positive.
• Defines maternal mental health conditions as conditions during pregnancy or postpartum, regardless of pregnancy outcome and inclusive of gender-diverse birthing people.

Who it affects ​

• Pregnant and postpartum patients, including gender-diverse birthing people.
• Obstetric and other licensed practitioners providing prenatal, postpartum, or perinatal care.
• Health care service plans, Medi-Cal managed care plans, and health insurers.