[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 140 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5861-S5862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  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.
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