Only in the US: The perplexing case of missing maternity coverage

There's an important story from Newhouse News Service out today which reports on the common practice among private insurers to exclude maternity coverage from individual policies. "Large group plans generally include maternity coverage as a matter of course. But small group plans and individual policyholders may not because it adds too much to the monthly premiums," Regina McEnery reports. This is dismal news for single mothers-to-be by choice or chance who are self-insured or covered by a group policy that excludes maternity coverage for individual policy holders.