Requires that provision be made for pregnancy termination procedures insurance coverage in every individual or group hospital, surgical or medical policy, or hospital service or medical expense indemnity contract of a service corporation, only where any such policy or contract offers maternity care coverage.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7573--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 14, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GLICK, ROZIC, SIMON, CRUZ, GOTT-
FRIED, McMAHON, EPSTEIN, WEPRIN, GALLAGHER, SEAWRIGHT, FORREST,
BURGOS, DICKENS, WOERNER, LAVINE, HEVESI, FERNANDEZ, QUART, SILLITTI,
KELLES, REYES, BURDICK, PAULIN, THIELE, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, JACOBSON,
AUBRY, ANDERSON, BRONSON, ABINANTI, BARRETT, CLARK, STECK, SEPTIMO,
OTIS, LUNSFORD, HUNTER, MAMDANI, NIOU, COLTON, JACKSON, CARROLL,
DINOWITZ, ZINERMAN, J. RIVERA, L. ROSENTHAL, MITAYNES, DAVILA, GALEF,
RAMOS, JEAN-PIERRE -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Insurance -- recommitted to the Committee on Insurance in accordance
with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring that
provision be made for pregnancy termination procedures in every indi-
vidual or group policy or contract which provides coverage or indem-
nity for hospital, surgical or medical care and which offers maternity
care coverage
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that New York
2 has a long history of advancing gender equity and, as part of that
3 effort, reproductive health.
4 The legislature additionally finds that access to the full range of
5 health benefits, as guaranteed under the laws of this state, provides
6 all New Yorkers with the opportunity to lead healthier and more fulfill-
7 ing lives.
8 The legislature also finds that neither a person's income level nor
9 the type of health insurance they utilize should prevent them from
10 having access to a full range of reproductive health care, including
11 abortion care.
12 The legislature additionally finds that restrictions and barriers to
13 health coverage for reproductive health care have a disproportionate
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11093-02-2
A. 7573--A 2
1 impact on low-income people, people of color, immigrants, and young
2 people and that these individuals are often already disadvantaged in
3 their access to resources, information, and services.
4 The legislature also finds that the exclusion of coverage for repro-
5 ductive health care services for women and those with the capacity to
6 become pregnant is discrimination on the basis of sex and pregnancy.
7 The legislature finds that abortion care is part of pregnancy-related
8 care, and failure to provide coverage for the full range of pregnancy-
9 related care interferes with an individual's personal health care deci-
10 sion making, their overall health and well-being and with their consti-
11 tutionally protected right to safe and legal abortion care.
12 § 2. Subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is amended by
13 adding a new paragraph 36 to read as follows:
14 (36)(A) Every policy which provides hospital, surgical, or medical
15 coverage and which offers maternity care coverage pursuant to paragraph
16 ten of this subsection shall also provide coverage for abortion services
17 for an enrollee.
18 (B) Coverage for abortion shall not be subject to annual deductibles
19 or coinsurance, including co-payments, unless the policy is a high
20 deductible health plan as defined in section 223(c)(2) of the internal
21 revenue code of 1986, in which case coverage for abortion may be subject
22 to the plan's annual deductible.
23 § 3. Subsection (k) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by
24 adding a new paragraph 22 to read as follows:
25 (22)(A) Every policy which provides hospital, surgical, or medical
26 coverage and which offers maternity care coverage pursuant to paragraph
27 five of this subsection shall also provide coverage for abortion
28 services for an enrollee.
29 (B) Coverage for abortion shall not be subject to annual deductibles
30 or coinsurance, including co-payments, unless the policy is a high
31 deductible health plan as defined in section 223(c)(2) of the internal
32 revenue code of 1986, in which case coverage for abortion may be subject
33 to the plan's annual deductible.
34 (C) Notwithstanding any other provision, a group policy that provides
35 hospital, surgical, or medical expense coverage delivered or issued for
36 delivery in this state to a religious employer, as defined in item one
37 of subparagraph (E) of paragraph sixteen of subsection (l) of this
38 section, may exclude coverage for abortion only if the insurer:
39 (i) Obtains an annual certification from the group policyholder that
40 the policyholder is a religious employer and that the religious employer
41 requests a policy without coverage for abortion;
42 (ii) Issues a rider to each certificateholder at no premium to be
43 charged to the certificateholder or religious employer for the rider,
44 that provides coverage for abortion subject to the same rules as would
45 have been applied to the same category of treatment in the policy issued
46 to the religious employer. The rider shall clearly and conspicuously
47 specify that the religious employer does not administer abortion bene-
48 fits, but that the insurer is issuing a rider for coverage of abortion,
49 and shall provide the insurer's contact information for questions; and
50 (iii) Provides notice of the issuance of the policy and rider to the
51 superintendent in a form and manner acceptable to the superintendent.
52 § 4. Section 4303 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
53 subsection (ss) to read as follows:
54 (ss)(1) Every policy which provides hospital, surgical, or medical
55 coverage and which offers maternity care coverage pursuant to subsection
A. 7573--A 3
1 (c) of this section shall also provide coverage for abortion services
2 for an enrollee.
3 (2) Coverage for abortion shall not be subject to annual deductibles
4 or coinsurance, including co-payments, unless the policy is a high
5 deductible health plan as defined in section 223(c)(2) of the internal
6 revenue code of 1986, in which case coverage for abortion may be subject
7 to the plan's annual deductible.
8 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision, a group policy that provides
9 hospital, surgical, or medical expense coverage delivered or issued for
10 delivery in this state to a religious employer, as defined in paragraph
11 five of subsection (cc) of this section, may exclude coverage for
12 abortion only if the insurer:
13 (A) Obtains an annual certification from the group policyholder that
14 the policyholder is a religious employer and that the religious employer
15 requests a policy without coverage for abortion;
16 (B) Issues a rider to each certificateholder at no premium to be
17 charged to the certificateholder or religious employer for the rider,
18 that provides coverage for abortion subject to the same rules as would
19 have been applied to the same category of treatment in the policy issued
20 to the religious employer. The rider shall clearly and conspicuously
21 specify that the religious employer does not administer abortion bene-
22 fits, but that the insurer is issuing a rider for coverage of abortion,
23 and shall provide the insurer's contact information for questions; and
24 (C) Provides notice of the issuance of the policy and rider to the
25 superintendent in a form and manner acceptable to the superintendent.
26 § 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of
27 any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, or to violate or be
28 inconsistent with any federal law or regulation, that shall not affect
29 the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of
30 any other application of any provision of this act, which can be given
31 effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the
32 provisions and applications of this act are severable.
33 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
34 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
35 policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered, or amended on
36 or after such date.