Martha Garcia v. Pacificare of California, Inc.

OPINION

CHRISTEN, Circuit Judge:

This case involves a single issue: does an insurance company’s categorical exclusion of myoelectric prosthetics from a health insurance plan violate California Health & Safety Code § 1367.18? We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and hold that such an exclusion does not violate this statute.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1989, eleven-year-old Martha Garcia (“Garcia”) contracted spinal meningitis, which necessitated the amputation of her hands at the wrists and her legs below the knees. From 1990 to 1996 she used body-powered/cable and harness upper-extremity prostheses.…