NARAL Pro-Choice Montana: P.O. Box 279 Helena, MT  59624 406.443.0276 prochoice@mt.net

 

HB 526: Contraceptive Equity

Sponsored by Rep Christine Kaufmann (D Helena)

HB 526 required insurance providers to cover FDA-approved contraception if they already offer coverage for other prescription medication. This bill was an attempt to direct insurance companies to treat women of child-bearing age in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner by providing insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives. HB 526 was heavily amended and defeated in House Business & Labor committee.

This bill was tabled in committee and never went to a floor vote.

Why NARAL Pro-Choice Montana supported this bill: Affordable pregnancy prevention is a medical necessity that can ultimately save employers money by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies.  Both pro-choice and anti-choice legislators should unite behind bills like HB 526 which provide healthcare equity and seek to reduce the incidence of abortion in our state.

Talking Points:

• Contraceptive access reduces unintended pregnancy and reduces abortion rates.  Fifty percent of pregnancies are unintended.  Of these, more than half will end in abortion.
  
• Contraceptive access is cost effective.  According to the Guttmacher Institute, contraceptive coverage costs on average only $21.04 per employee, per year.  This breaks down to only $1.43 per month.  According to the Washington Business Group on Helath, not covering contraceptives costs 15-17% more than providing the coverage.  Contraceptive coverage is a good investment in the health of Montana women and that state of Montana.
  
• Contraceptive access is a matter of basic fairness.  Women pay 68% more in out-of-pocket medical expenses than their male counterparts due to a lack of equitable coverage.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Fifth Circuit ruled that not providing contraceptive coverage when other prescription drugs are covered violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In short, it is gender discrimination.

• Contraceptive access is essential to women’s healthcare.  In the absence of insurance coverage, many women will choose an affordable method that is less appropriate for their medical or life circumstances.

If a sexually active woman between 20-45 wants—as do most American women—two children, she will on average spend almost five years of her life trying to become pregnant, or being pregnant or postpartum, and more than twenty years trying to avoid pregnancy.

 

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