What's happening
This bill requires insurance and Medicaid in New York to cover a 12-month supply of contraception after an initial 3-month supply.
Why it matters
Reduces barriers to consistent contraceptive use. By requiring insurance and Medicaid to cover a full year’s supply of contraception after an initial three-month period, the bill helps minimize gaps in access caused by frequent pharmacy visits or refills, which are often linked to missed doses and unintended pregnancies.
Supports reproductive autonomy and planning. Individuals can better control their reproductive health by having extended, uninterrupted access to birth control, making it easier to align contraception use with personal and family planning needs.
Promotes health equity. The policy applies to both private insurance plans and Medicaid, ensuring that low-income individuals and those on public insurance receive the same level of access as those with private coverage.
May lower healthcare system costs. By reducing the chance of unintended pregnancies through more reliable contraceptive access, the bill could lead to fewer pregnancy-related healthcare expenses for both individuals and the state.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Allow Yearlong Birth Control
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to insurance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Allow 12-Month Birth Control
In Assembly Committee · Insurance · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7368
IN SENATE
January 10, 2018
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the social services law, in relation to allowing individuals to obtain a twelve month supply of contraception at one time
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of paragraph 16 of subsection (l) of section 3221 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 554 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
Every group or blanket policy which provides coverage for prescription drugs shall include coverage for the cost of contraceptive drugs or devices approved by the federal food and drug administration or generic equivalents approved as substitutes by such food and drug administration under the prescription of a health care provider legally authorized to prescribe under title eight of the education law. This coverage shall allow for a three month supply of a contraceptive for the initial dispensing of the contraceptive and a twelve month supply of the same contraceptive for all subsequent dispensings to the certificate holder regardless of whether such certificate holder was enrolled in the policy at the time of the initial dispensing. The coverage required by this section shall be included in policies and certificates only through the addition of a rider.
§ 2. Subsection (cc) of section 4303 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 554 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
(cc) Every contract which provides coverage for prescription drugs shall include coverage for the cost of contraceptive drugs or devices approved by the federal food and drug administration or generic equivalents approved as substitutes by such food and drug administration under the prescription of a health care provider legally authorized to prescribe under title eight of the education law. This coverage shall allow for a three month supply of a contraceptive for the initial dispensing of the contraceptive and a twelve month supply of the same contraceptive for all subsequent dispensings to the insured regardless
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01936-01-7
S. 7368 2
of whether the insured was enrolled under the contract at the time of the initial dispensing. The coverage required by this section shall be included in contracts and certificates only through the addition of a rider.
§ 3. Paragraph 25 of subsection (b) of section 4322 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 504 of the laws of 1995 and the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 388 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
(25) Prescription drugs, including contraceptive drugs or devices approved by the federal food and drug administration or generic equivalents approved as substitutes by such food and drug administration and nutritional supplements (formulas), whether administered orally or via a feeding tube for the therapeutic treatment of phenylketonuria, branchedchain ketonuria, galactosemia and homocystinuria, obtained at a participating pharmacy under a prescription written by an in-plan or out-ofplan provider. Health maintenance organizations, in addition to providing coverage for prescription drugs at a participating pharmacy, may utilize a mail order prescription drug program. Health maintenance organizations may provide prescription drugs pursuant to a drug formulary; however, health maintenance organizations must implement an appeals process so that the use of non-formulary prescription drugs may be requested by a physician or other provider.
With respect to contraceptive drugs, any plan shall allow for a three month supply of a contraceptive for the initial dispensing of the contraceptive and a twelve month supply of the same contraceptive for all subsequent dispensings to the enrollee.
Health maintenance organizations shall impose a one hundred dollar individual deductible and a three hundred dollar family deductible per calendar year for prescription drugs obtained at a participating pharmacy. Health maintenance organizations may not impose a deductible on prescriptions obtained through the mail order drug program.
In addition to the deductible, a ten dollar copayment shall be imposed on up to a thirty-four day supply of brand name prescription drugs obtained at a participating pharmacy. A five dollar copayment shall be imposed on up to a thirty-four day supply of generic prescription drugs or brand name drugs for which there is no generic equivalent obtained at a participating pharmacy.
If a mail order drug program is utilized, a twenty dollar copayment shall be imposed on a ninety day supply of brand name prescription drugs. A ten dollar copayment shall be imposed on a ninety day supply of generic prescription drugs or brand name drugs for which there is no generic equivalent obtained through the mail order drug program.
In no event shall the copayment exceed the cost of the prescribed drug.
§ 4. Subparagraph (E) of paragraph 17 of subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new clause (v) to read as follows:
(v) contraceptives, allowing for a three month supply for the initial dispensing of the contraceptive and a twelve month supply of the same contraceptive for all subsequent dispensings to the insured regardless of whether the insured was enrolled under the policy at the time of the initial dispensing.
§ 5. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 365-a of the social services law, as amended by chapter 909 of the laws of 1974 and as relettered by chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
S. 7368 3
(d) family planning services and supplies, including contraception, for eligible persons of childbearing age, including children under twenty-one years of age who can be considered sexually active, who desire such services and supplies, in accordance with the requirements of federal law and regulations and the regulations of the department. No person shall be compelled or coerced to accept such services or supplies. With respect to contraception, coverage shall allow for a three month supply of a contraceptive for the initial dispensing of the contraceptive and a twelve month supply of the same contraceptive for all subsequent dispensings.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the insurance law and the social services law, in relation to allowing individuals to obtain a twelve month supply of contraception at one time
Purpose
This bill will allow individuals to obtain a twelve month supply of contraception at one time.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends subsection (1) of section 3221 of the insurance law.
Section two amends subsection (cc) of section 4303 of the insurance law.
Section three amends paragraph 25 of subsection (b) of section 4322 of the insurance law.
Section four amends subparagraph E of paragraph 17 of subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law.
Section five amends paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 365-a of the social services law.
Section six sets forth the effective date.
Justification
Women lead busy lives: nearly 70% of women with a child under the age of 18 also work outside the home. Repeat trips to the pharmacy to refill a birth control prescription every month is an inconvenient and tiresome process. For women living in rural areas where pharmacies are spread out geographically, access to birth control can be even more erratic. The vast majority of insurance policies offered in New York State complicate matters by limiting women to a 30-day supply of oral contraceptives.
There is no health-related reason to limit women's access to oral contraceptives to 30 or 90 days. This bill enables doctors and other health-care providers to prescribe up to a 12-month supply of self-ad- ministered hormonal contraception. Not only will this eliminate the hurdles to receiving consistent and effective birth control, but most importantly, it gives women the power to determine their own reproduc- tive futures. Women who received a year's supply of birth control pills were 30 percent less likely to have an unplanned pregnancy than those who received either a one-month or three-month supply, according to a 2011 study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Access to a longer-term contraceptive supply will reduce the potential for skipped doses and help reduce instances of unintended pregnancy as a result of contraceptive failure.
Legislative history
This is a new bill.
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to policies and contacts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.