Wednesday, January 14, 2015

New California Law Strengthens Children's Right to Access Birth Control, Abortion Services, and Mental Healthcare Without Notifying Parents

This is from Kenny Goldberg at KPBS:
Health plans typically communicate with the main policyholder about medical care accessed by family members. 
That can be awkward for people who seek birth control or mental health care but a new law  [SB 138] aims to prevent that situation. 
The Confidential Health Information Act allows individuals to keep their medical information private by submitting a special request to their health plan. That request can be made by phone or in writing. ...
[T]he prime beneficiaries of the new law are the hundreds of thousands of young adults in California who are covered by their parent's insurance plans....
Under California law, teenagers have the right to access birth control, abortion services, and mental healthcare without notifying their parents.