“New Yorkers have a right to comprehensive, cost-free access to birth control. With the Affordable Care Act under attack in Washington, it’s all the more critical that New York act now to protect these rights,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “The Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act will ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the birth control method they need to stay healthy and effectively plan for their future – no matter what happens in Congress.”
The CCCA would codify into New York law the current ACA requirement that contraception be made available to New Yorkers cost-free, while also expanding on the ACA in several important ways, protecting and enhancing New Yorkers’ access to contraception — particularly vital in the event of an ACA repeal.
- First, the bill would statutorily require state-governed health insurance policies to provide cost-free coverage for all FDA-approved methods of birth control, including emergency contraception.
- Second, the legislation would prohibit insurance companies from “medical management” review restrictions that can limit or delay contraceptive coverage.
- Third, the CCCA would cover men’s contraceptive methods and bring their insurance coverage in line with the benefits enjoyed by women.
- Fourth, the bill would allow for the provision of a year’s worth of a contraceptive at a time.
Despite legal reforms enacted in New York State and Congress, both women and men in New York continue to face barriers in accessing contraceptive care. In 2002, the New York State Legislature passed the Women’s Health and Wellness Act, an important first step toward contraceptive equity that required insurance plans that cover prescriptions to include contraception. Eight years later, the U.S. Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, which includes a contraceptive coverage guarantee as part of a broader requirement for health insurance plans to cover key preventive care services without out-of-pocket costs for patients. However, despite the ACA’s broad contraceptive coverage requirements, Attorney General Schneiderman’s office received reports that certain health plans had been imposing co-pays as well as denying full coverage of certain contraceptive methods through “medical management” (utilization review). As a result of the Attorney General’s inquiry to New York’s major health plans and new federal guidance, the plans agreed that members would not be charged a co-pay for all FDA-approved contraceptives.
Now, with Congressional Republicans threatening to repeal the ACA including provisions that guarantee “no cost-sharing” for women’s preventive health services, Attorney General Schneiderman’s proposed CCCA would protect and expand upon the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirements – while also providing a model for other states to act.
Attorney General Schneiderman has been a leader on issues of women’s health and reproductive justice. Among other work, this fall, he issued a legal opinion making clear that the reproductive health protections afforded to all women under Roe v. Wade and later Supreme Court cases are not, and cannot be, diminished in any way by New York’s Penal Law.
Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “Access to reproductive health care options is a basic right for all women and it must be protected against the stated goals of the incoming Trump Administration. I commend Attorney General Schneiderman for his leadership on the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act and I am proud to support this vital legislation. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to pass this bill and ensure no New York woman loses her rights due to actions taken in Washington, DC.”
“Contraception is critical to a woman’s health and her ability to participate equally in economic, political and social life,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Executive Director. “President-elect Trump threatens women’s access to contraception by promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and Attorney General Schneiderman is right to take a stand for comprehensive contraception coverage for all New Yorkers.”
“Women should not be forced to choose between their birth control and other essential expenses,” said Sonia Ossorio, President, NOW New York. “With Trump threatening to repeal healthcare coverage that has benefited tens of millions of women, we need to do everything we can at the local level to ensure that women retain their access to contraception. Making birth control cost-free and readily accessible will protect the health of women and their families while significantly reducing long-term healthcare costs. We applaud Attorney General Schneiderman’s proactive approach to making sure that women’s healthcare needs are met in our state.”
