Annual supply of contraception could be covered by Missouri private insurers

Rep. Tara Peters, R-Rolla, who is sponsoring the bipartisan measure, has said that because Missouri is a non-abortion state, women should have the tools they need to prevent unintended pregnancy.

"Missouri women have spoken. They want to have access to birth control," Peters said.

Currently, for those who have private insurance, up to a 90-day supply of birth control can be filled at one time. That means the prescription needs to be filled multiple times throughout the year.

But with a birth control method like oral contraceptives, it most effectively prevents pregnancy when taken every day at the same time. Missing a day or taking it inconsistently can increase the chance of pregnancy.

MO HealthNet, the state's Medicaid health insurance, already covers a year's supply of birth control.

"I support women being able to get the birth control they need," House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, R-Lee's Summit, told the Post-Dispatch. "It's sometimes very hard to go in every three months or call your doctor's office and get the three-month supply. I think this would just make it easier for them to get the year supply and make sure they have the contraception that they need."

During a public hearing on the measure earlier this year, several health organizations and advocacy groups testified in favor of the measure, which has been introduced in the Legislature for years.

"At the heart of this bill is plan adherence and continuity of use," said Mandy Hagseth, policy director at Missouri Family Health Council, a reproductive health care advocacy organization. "We know smaller intervals of birth control on hand means that you are going to have additional interruptions in use. And it takes only one pill delayed or differed to result in an unintended pregnancy."

Some insurers at the hearing opposed the change.

"There's no guarantee you're going to be a member of mine for more than 30 days at any given moment," said Shannon Cooper, a lobbyist for America's Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. "Why should we give you a year supply when there is no guarantee that you're going to be a member of ours for a year? There is nothing that guarantees, and there is no way for us to get our money back."

The measure now heads to the Senate for consideration. But with just four weeks left in this year's legislative session and major policy proposals threatening to leave the Senate chamber in gridlock, approval by the full Legislature is unclear.

This legislation in House Bill 2413.

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