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A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE NEW MEXICO HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION, IN

COORDINATION WITH THE INSURANCE DIVISION OF THE PUBLIC

REGULATION COMMISSION, EVALUATE THE BENEFITS OF CONTRACEPTION

USE, DISSEMINATE INSURANCE COVERAGE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC

AND UPDATE THE STUDY OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY'S COMPLIANCE

WITH REQUIREMENTS TO OFFER COVERAGE FOR PRESCRIPTION

CONTRACEPTIVES.

WHEREAS, Sections 59A-22-42 and 59A-46-44 NMSA 1978

require health insurance providers that offer a prescription

drug benefit to also offer coverage for prescription

contraceptives; and

WHEREAS, the requirement to offer coverage for

prescription contraceptives took effect on June 15, 2001; and

WHEREAS, in 2002 the legislature requested the insurance

division of the public regulation commission to conduct a

study in New Mexico to ascertain the level of knowledge of and

compliance with the requirement to offer coverage for

prescription contraceptives; and

WHEREAS, the superintendent of insurance reported back

to the legislature in 2003, noting that insurers that provided

prescription drug coverage also covered prescription

contraceptives but many other insurers providing health

insurance did not cover prescription contraceptives; and

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WHEREAS, the study found that of five hundred eighty-

nine health insurers surveyed, fewer than ten percent, or

forty-seven insurers, offered coverage of prescription

contraceptives; and

WHEREAS, it has been found that the price of

prescription contraceptives can deter a woman from using

contraception; and

WHEREAS, availability of a variety of methods of

contraception allows a woman to choose prescription

contraception that is easy to use, is easy to remember, fits

her lifestyle best and ensures the least possibility of

unwanted pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, the average family size desired by women

includes two children, requiring a method of spacing

pregnancies and preventing pregnancy for long periods of a

woman's childbearing years; and

WHEREAS, spacing pregnancies reduces the incidence of

maternal morbidity, low-birth-weight babies and infant

mortality; and

WHEREAS, over one-half of the pregnancies in the United

States are unintended, and in New Mexico one in ten women who

become pregnant while using contraception do so because of

inconsistent use due to running out of contraceptives and not

having funds to purchase additional contraceptives; and

WHEREAS, many women fail to determine if their insurance

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plan provides coverage of prescription contraceptives and only

after coverage begins do they discover that prescription

contraception is not covered; and

WHEREAS, coverage of prescription contraceptives can

benefit insurance companies by providing savings on health

care costs by reducing expenses of unintended pregnancies and

promoting better health for mothers and their children; and

WHEREAS, coverage of prescription contraceptives can

reduce costs to employers by increasing the productivity and

health of women employees and reducing absences associated

with pregnancies, miscarriages, childbirth and larger families

even as it increases the cost for health insurance by a very

low additional monthly cost of less than one dollar fifty

cents ($1.50) per employee, if there is an increase in

insurance cost at all; and

WHEREAS, many women still lack coverage for prescription

contraceptives, even though private insurance plans have

improved their coverage in recent years and of those

contraceptives covered, many women still cannot obtain the

kind of contraception they wish to use under some of these

private insurance plans;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the insurance

division of the public regulation commission be requested to

update its 2002 survey of health insurers and report to the

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appropriate legislative committee no later than November 2006;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico health policy

commission collect and evaluate relevant health studies and

other information and determine the benefits to the state, its

people and the health insurance industry of having

prescription contraceptive coverage; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the insurance division

ascertain if the level of knowledge of and compliance with the

requirement to offer coverage of prescription contraception

has increased and also determine if there are limits placed on

the varieties of contraception that are covered by private

insurers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the insurance division

extend the focus of the 2002 study to ascertain whether

prescription contraceptives are covered by insurers that offer

hospital and medical expenses reimbursement and managed care

contracts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the insurance division

prepare a list for public dissemination of health insurers

that do not provide prescription contraceptive coverage; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the insurance division use

the data collected as a result of the study to begin a

dialogue with insurance companies to encourage greater

coverage of prescription contraceptives; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico health policy

commission and the department of health cooperate to prepare

educational materials for the public regarding availability

and access to prescription contraceptives; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico health policy

commission serve as the lead agency to coordinate efforts with

the insurance division and provide two copies of the report

generated pursuant to this memorial to the library of the

legislative council service; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the New Mexico health policy commission, the

superintendent of insurance and the secretary of health.