[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S9416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]







  STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS--JULY 11, 2003



      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Reid, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 

        Lautenberg, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Smith, Mr. Corzine, 

        Mr. Biden, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Warner, Mr. Inouye, 

        Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Chafee, Ms. 

        Collins, and Mrs. Boxer):

  S. 1396. A bill to require equitable coverage of prescription 

contraceptive drugs and devices, and contraceptive services under 

health plans; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am pleased today to join Senator Snowe in 

introducing legislation that will promote equity and fairness for 

women.

  The Equity in Prescription and Contraception Coverage Act of 2003, 

EPICC, requires insurance plans that provide coverage for prescription 

drugs to provide the same coverage for prescription contraceptives.

  Senator Snowe and I first introduced EPICC about 6 years ago. We have 

been working across party lines and across the ideological spectrum to 

gain support from our colleagues in the Senate, and I am proud to 

report that EPICC had 44 cosponsors from both parties in the 107th 

Congress.

  It is time for us to come together and enact this legislation. It 

will prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the number of abortions 

performed in this country, and address unmet health needs of American 

women.

  We can find not only common ground but also a common sense solution 

in the legislation I am introducing with Senator Snowe.

  By making sure women can afford their prescription contraceptives, 

our bill will help to reduce the staggering rates of unintended 

pregnancy in the United States, and reduce the number of abortions 

performed.

  It is a national tragedy that half of all pregnancies nationwide are 

unintended, and that half of those will end in abortions. It is a 

tragedy, but it doesn't have to be. If we work together, we can prevent 

these unintended pregnancies, and abortions.

  One of the most important steps we can take to prevent unintended 

pregnancies, and to reduce abortions, is to make sure American women 

have access to affordable, effective contraception.

  There are a number of safe and effective contraceptives available by 

prescription. Used properly, they greatly reduce the rate of unintended 

pregnancies.

  However, many women simply can't afford these prescriptions, and 

their insurance doesn't pay for them, even though it covers other 

prescriptions.

  That is not fair. We know women on average earn less than men, yet 

they must pay far more than men for health-related expenses.

  According to the Women's Research and Education Institute, women of 

reproductive age pay 68 percent more in out-of-pocket medical expenses 

than men, largely due to their reproductive health-care needs.

  Because many women can't afford the prescription contraceptives they 

would like to use, many do without them--and the result, all too often, 

is unintended pregnancy and abortion.

  This isn't an isolated problem. The fact is, a majority of women in 

this country are covered by health insurance plans that do not provide 

coverage for prescription contraceptives.

  This is unfair to women . . . and it's bad policy that causes 

additional unintended pregnancies, and adversely affects women's 

health.

  Senator Snowe and I first introduced our legislation in 1997. Since 

then, the Viagra pill went on the market, and one month later it was 

covered by most insurance policies.

  Birth control pills have been on the market since 1960, and today, 43 

years later, they are covered by only one-third of health insurance 

policies.

  So, most insurance policies pay for Viagra. But most of them don't 

pay for prescription contraceptives that prevent unintentional 

pregnancies and abortions.

  This isn't fair, and it isn't even cost-effective, because most 

insurance policies do cover sterilization and abortion procedures. In 

other words, they won't pay for the pills that could prevent an 

abortion . . . but they will pay for the procedure itself, which is 

much more costly.

  The Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, which has provided 

contraceptive coverage for several years, shows that adding such 

coverage does not make the plan more expensive.

  In December 2000, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 

EEOC, ruled that an employer's failure to include insurance coverage 

for prescription contraceptives, when other prescription drugs and 

devices are covered, constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  On June 12, 2001, a Federal district court in Seattle made the same 

finding in the case of Erickson vs. Bartell Drug Company.

  These decisions confirm that we have know all along; contraceptive 

coverage is a matter of equity and fairness for women.

  We are not asking for special treatment of contraceptives--only 

equitable treatment within the context of an existing prescription drug 

benefit.

  This legislation is right because it's fair to women.

  It's right because it will prevent unintended pregnancies, a goal we 

all share.

  And it's right because it is more cost-effective than other 

services--including abortions, sterilizations and tubal ligations--that 

most insurance companies routinely cover.

  This is common sense, cost-effective legislation . . . and it is long 

overdue.



                          ____________________