Sex

Minnesota’s Birth Control Coverage Protections Would Include Religious Exemption

The proposal includes an exemption that would allow religious institutions to forgo offering health insurance plans that include contraception coverage for their employees.

The proposal includes an exemption that would allow religious institutions to forgo offering health insurance plans that include contraception coverage for their employees. Shutterstock

Lawmakers in Minnesota have introduced legislation that would protect women’s access to all forms of birth control—a response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that set a precedent for denying employer-insured contraception on religious grounds.

The proposal, however, includes an exemption that would allow religious institutions to forgo offering health insurance plans that include contraception coverage for their employees, ensuring there would still be gaps in birth control coverage even if the bill gets through the Republican-controlled house.

HF 1165, known as the Contraceptive Health Equity and Employee Rights Act, was introduced last week and has 22 co-sponsors. The legislation would require most employers who offer prescription drug coverage to include contraception in their health insurance plans.

Minnesota lawmakers are the latest to respond to the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in the Hobby Lobby case. Lawmakers in Illinois, Michigan, and New York have all introduced similar legislation designed to protect contraception coverage in health plans.

Rep. Erin Murphy (D-Saint Paul) introduced HF 1165, and said in a press release that the bill is needed to address serious gaps in contraception coverage in Minnesota. Murphy said contraception coverage has been put in jeopardy by allowing certain for-profit employers to discriminate against female employees.

“Women hold the right to decide for themselves when and whether to use birth control, without interference from their employer,” Murphy said in the release. “An employer’s personal religious beliefs should not trump an employee’s access to contraception. The Supreme Court’s misguided ruling, and the recent rulings in Minnesota, mean that we need to take action to assure health care equity and access for Minnesota women.”

The bill would mandate that employers’ health insurance plans that provide prescription drug coverage cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and related medical services.

It would also prevent health plans from imposing cost sharing for FDA-approved contraceptive methods.

The bill requires religious employers who choose to deny coverage for religious reasons to provide written disclosure to prospective employees. It also provides an exemption for religious institutions and some closely held for-profit corporations from offering contraceptive coverage in their health plans.

Murphy introduced similar legislation during the 2012-2013 legislative session, and both the house and senate versions died in committee.

Minnesota’s legislature is split. While Democrats hold a 39-28 advantage in the senate, Republicans hold a 72-62 majority in the house.

Murphy told the Minneapolis Fox affiliate that she thinks the issue should be bipartisan. “Contraception has not been controversial, and it has not necessarily been a partisan issue,” Murphy told KMSP. “I would love to earn bipartisan support for it and I’m going to work on it.”

The bill has been referred to the Health and Human Services Reform Committee, where it awaits further action.

The committee is chaired by Rep. Tara Mack (R-Apple Valley), who has compiled an anti-choice voting record during her time in the house. Mack has co-sponsored three anti-choice bills during the 2015 legislative session: HF 1047, HF 787, and HF 788.