Idaho Senate passes bill requiring insurers to provide longer supply of contraceptives

After five years of voting down similar bills, the Idaho Senate passed a bill that would require insurance companies to reimburse for up to a six-month supply of contraceptives, not including emergency contraception or medications to induce abortions.

Prior versions of Senate Bill 1260, sponsored by Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, would have provided contraception supplies of up to 12 months, but Wintrow said there were concerns about product waste, so she moved it to six months.

The bill passed on a 20-14 vote, with no debate aside from Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, who said he voted against the legislation because he has always viewed it as a mandate on the private sector.

“It’s my understanding that some insurance companies already do this, and if there’s a demand for this length of prescription, then I think it’s best decided and met by the free market,” Lakey said.

Wintrow told the Capital Sun the Legislature creates mandates all the time and passes health insurance-related bills on a regular basis. Insurers told her they were neutral about the idea.

“They said, ‘Melissa, you know, we’re not going to weigh in,’ but they certainly didn’t oppose it,” Wintrow said.

The six-month supply was particularly important to Wintrow because contraceptives have to be taken on a regular basis at specific times of day in order to be most effective at preventing pregnancy. She said she was shocked the vote wasn’t unanimous considering the Legislature’s focus on abortion legislation, but she was pleased it passed.

“This body is very concerned about pregnancy and women’s bodies. This is the best way, the best practice, to make contraception accessible in order to prevent an abortion,” Wintrow said.

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it may face more opposition, but said she has addressed every concern brought up in prior years.

“The insurers are neutral, the right to life groups are neutral, I’ve addressed concerns by physicians, I have cut the time. There is no excuse for not voting for this,” she said.