S.Amdt. 3996

SA 3996. Mr. CARPER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 6157, making appropriations for the Department of
Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in division B, insert the
following:
Sec. __. (a) Beginning on January 1, 2019, a group health
plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or
individual health insurance coverage shall provide coverage
of a single dispensing of contraceptives for a 12-month
period, with no deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other
cost-sharing requirement.
(b) Congress finds as follows:
(1) Contraception is basic health care for women, and women
need access to all birth control methods so that they can use
the specific birth control that is right for them.
(2) Removing barriers to access to birth control so that
women can plan, space, and prevent pregnancies is critically
important for women's health and economic security, as well
as the health of any children they may decide to have in the
future. Access to birth control is linked to women's greater
educational and professional opportunities and increased
lifetime earnings.
(3) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public
Law 111-148) has removed cost barriers to birth control for
over 62,400,000 women, but other non-cost barriers remain,
and some women still do not have insurance coverage of birth
control.
(4) A woman's chances of unintended pregnancy increase
considerably when barriers prevent her from using birth
control consistently and correctly.
(5) In recent years, States have taken proactive steps to
increase women's access to the birth control method of their
choice, as follows:
(A) Several States, including Delaware, Iowa, and Colorado
have implemented successful initiatives that include training
of providers and consumer education to improve access to the
full range of contraceptive methods, resulting in significant
reductions in unplanned pregnancy.
(B) At least 12 States (including California, the District
of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and
Washington) have passed laws requiring coverage of all birth
control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration,
without out-of-pocket costs.
(C) At least 12 States (including California, Colorado, the
District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine,
Massachuettes, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and
Ohio) have passed laws requiring coverage of 12 months of
birth control dispensed at one time.
(D) At least 7 States (including California, Delaware,
Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon) have
passed laws requiring coverage of over-the-counter methods of
birth control without requiring a prescription.
(E) In 2018, the Utah State legislature passed a bill
requiring the State to apply for

[[Page S5862]]

a Medicaid family planning eligibility expansion with the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. When approved, Utah
will become the 27th State with such an expansion.
______