BRIEF: Free birth control in New York pushed by AG Schneiderman

Jan. 11--Attorney General Eric Schneiderman proposed legislation on Wednesday to protect New Yorkers' access to contraception coverage.

If passed, the legislation would ensure that contraception would be made available to residents cost-free, as it currently is under the Affordable Care Act, according to Schneiderman's office. Republicans in Congress have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.

"New Yorkers have a right to comprehensive, cost-free access to birth control," Schneiderman said in a statement. "With the Affordable Care Act under attack in Washington, it's all the more critical that New York act now to protect these rights."

The bill, called The Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act of 2017, would, among other things, require state-governed health insurance policies to provide the cost-free contraception for all FDA-approved methods of birth control, including emergency contraception, according to Schneiderman's office. It also calls for providing a year's worth of contraceptive at a time.

Once the legislation is formally introduced by Schneiderman, it is handed down to legislative leaders who then determine the bill's sponsors.

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