Maryland Passes The Most Sweeping Birth Control Access Law In The Country

(to asshole puke sen. reilly--your woman-hating religious beliefs have no business interfering with my health care decisions)

Maryland Passes The Most Sweeping Birth Control Access Law In The Country



Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, center, following a press conference at the Republican Governors Association annual conference Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed a bill into law Tuesday yielding the most expansive insurance coverage for contraception in the country. By eliminating most co-pays and all prescriptions for birth control, demanding coverage for up to 13 months of birth control at a time, and shedding costs for vasectomies, the law pushes Maryland to the forefront of the national movement to expand contraception access.

“Family planning is essential for women’s rights and cost is a factor in family planning,” said state Delegate Ariana Kelly, who sponsored the House bill. “This legislation is going to help eliminate barriers and reduce costs for women and for men.”

Unlike insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which already covers co-pay costs for prescription birth control, the Maryland law also requires state health insurance plans to cover vasectomies, the morning-after pill, and non-generic birth control drugs that may offer less side effects. It’s the first law in the country to demand this kind of expansive coverage from insurers. Dubbed the “Contraceptive Equity Act,” the law won’t go into effect into 2018 — but is already making waves. According to Karen Nelson, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, “Maryland is on the forefront across the board with this act.”

Though Maryland’s law had bipartisan support in the state, some conservatives argued that contraception isn’t a health care priority, citing their religious beliefs. “The Catholic Church is not in favor of artificial birth control or in vitro fertilization,” said Republican Sen. Ed Reilly. “But health insurance is supposed to be designed to treat sickness or illness. Vasectomies and birth control aren’t either. You’re interrupting a normal healthy program that a person goes through.”


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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/05/11/3777251/ma-contraception-insurance-coverage/