Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s General Assembly today gave final approval of H620, the Access to Birth Control bill. The legislation increases access to the full range of reproductive health care. The bill received strong tripartisan support in both chambers, passing 128-15-7 in the House and by unanimous voice vote in the Senate. The legislation is now on it’s way to Governor Shumlin for his signature. Representative Ann Pugh, lead sponsor of the legislation said, “Access to contraceptive services is essential to women's health, equality, economic opportunity, and the well-being of families. I am proud that Vermont has long recognized the central role that contraception plays in women’s health and lives and has led efforts to expand access to reproductive health care.”
The legislation codifies the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Birth Control Benefit for Vermont, which increases access to contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all insured individuals in Vermont without cost-sharing, delays, or denial of coverage. Vermont is only the second state in the nation to codify the Birth Control Benefit in the ACA, which will protect Vermonters’ access to no-cost share birth control from the unpredictable federal landscape. California codified it in 2014. H.620 expands the federal Birth Control Benefit in important ways:
1) Vermont is the first state to extend the Birth Control Benefit to men by requiring no-cost sharing coverage to vasectomies, bringing men’s insurance coverage in line with the benefits enjoyed by women, and
2) Vermont is the second state after Oregon in 2015 to allow women with private or public insurance to obtain up to twelve months of hormonal contraceptive methods during one visit, improving chances of consistent use and decreasing the likelihood of unintended pregnancy by 30%, bringing Vermont in-line with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) contraception dispensing best-practice.
“This legislation is so important for ensuring equity in access to birth control all Vermonters - women and men,” said Representative Kiah Morris, D-Bennington, House Health Care Committee Member and Chair of the Vermont Legislative Women’s Caucus. “Over the past two years our state has bucked the nationwide regressive trend; last year passing Telemedicine access to reproductive services, and this year not only protecting but EXPANDING access to reproductive health care. Vermont provides a startling contrast to the rest of the nation, especially in the area of women’s health,” celebrated Morris.
In addition the legislation will increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC), which are IUDs and the implant. LARC are the most effective method of birth control and the most expensive for the provider to stock.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) applauded the passage of legislation which increases access to birth control.
“Whether it is the recent US Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision or extreme efforts in many states to restrict women’s health and rights, the nation continues to march backward when it comes to women’s access to reproductive health care. I am so proud to live in a state that chooses again and again to march forward,” said Meagan Gallagher, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.