Zero-cost prenatal and postpartum care now required in all health plans
S. 1834 — Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act · Filed by Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced May 21, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Affordable Care Act to require health insurance plans to cover prenatal, childbirth, neonatal, perinatal, and postpartum care—including ultrasounds, delivery services, miscarriage care, and behavioral health services for up to one year after birth—with zero cost-sharing (no copays, coinsurance, or deductibles). The requirement applies to all group and individual health plans starting in plan years after enactment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward mandate requiring zero cost-sharing for a defined set of maternity and postpartum services across all health insurance plans. It is a public-health coverage expansion, not a tax provision, subsidy, or deregulation.
What the text implies
- Insurers and employers may respond by narrowing provider networks or increasing premiums elsewhere to offset the cost of zero cost-sharing for maternity care, potentially shifting costs to other services.
- The one-year postpartum period definition may create coverage cliffs at 12 months, leaving new parents without behavioral health coverage for postpartum depression or anxiety after that threshold.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
pregnant people and new parents (reduced out-of-pocket costs); healthcare providers (increased volume of covered services); health insurance plans (potential premium increases to offset zero cost-sharing)