States Adopt Contraceptive Equity Laws

A total of 20 states have enacted legislation mandating contraceptive equity in health insurance coverage and that number may increase, according to the National Women's Law Center, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.

The Center found that existing contraceptive equity laws are uniform in stating that if a health insurance policy provides prescription drug coverage, then the plan must provide coverage for any prescription drug or device that has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration as a contraceptive. In addition, the Center discovered that most existing laws state that any deductible, co-payment, or co-insurance applied to contraceptives may not be greater than those applied to other prescription drugs.

Employers that provide self-funded plans are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and are not regulated under state law. However, the Center noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has found that all employer-provided health care plans that fail to provide health insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because such action discriminates on the basis of gender and pregnancy.

The Center said the 20 states that currently have contraceptive equity laws are: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington state. Meanwhile, the Center noted, another eight states have mandated that HMOs cover "family planning services." They are: Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wyoming.