BILL NUMBER: SB 999	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Hertzberg)
   (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Atkins, Gomez, and
Gonzalez)
   (Coauthors: Senators Allen, Hall, Hill, Jackson, Leyva, and
Wieckowski)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Burke, Cristina Garcia, Levine,
McCarty, and Williams)

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2016

   An act to amend Section 4064.5 of the Business and Professions
Code, to amend Section 1367.25 of the Health and Safety Code, and to
amend Section 10123.196 of the Insurance Code, relating to
contraceptives.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 999, as introduced, Pavley. Health insurance: contraceptives:
annual supply.
   Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975,
provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service
plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful
violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the
regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance.
Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health
insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1,
2016, to provide coverage for women for all prescribed and
FDA-approved female contraceptive drugs, devices, and products, as
well as voluntary sterilization procedures, contraceptive education
and counseling, and related followup services.
   This bill would require a health care service plan or a health
insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1,
2017, to cover a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered
hormonal contraceptives dispensed at one time by a prescriber,
pharmacy, or onsite at a location licensed or authorized to dispense
drugs or supplies. Because a willful violation of the bill's
requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
   Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to dispense not more than a
90-day supply of a dangerous drug other than a controlled substance
pursuant to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity
of less than a 90-day supply followed by periodic refills of that
amount if the patient has met specified requirements, including
having completed an initial 30-day supply of the drug. Existing law
prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a greater supply of a
dangerous drug if the prescriber indicates "no change to quantity" on
the prescription.
   This bill would authorize a pharmacist to dispense prescribed,
FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives either as
prescribed or, at the patient's request, in a 12-month supply, unless
the prescriber specifically indicates no change to quantity.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds all of the following:
   (1) California has a long history of, and commitment to, expanding
access to services that aim to reduce the risk of unintended
pregnancies and improving reproductive health outcomes.
   (2) California's Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment
(PACT) program, created in 1999, is viewed nationally as the "gold
standard" of publicly funded programs providing access to
reproductive health care. The program has long recognized the value
and importance of providing women with a year's supply of birth
control.
   (3) The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and subsequent federal
regulations made contraceptive coverage a national policy by
requiring most private health insurance plans to provide coverage for
a broad range of preventive services without cost-sharing, including
FDA-approved prescription contraceptives.
   (4) Since the passage of the ACA, many states have passed laws
strengthening or expanding this federal contraceptive coverage
requirement. In 2014, California passed the Contraceptive Coverage
Equity Act of 2014, which requires plans to cover all prescribed
FDA-approved contraceptives for women without cost-sharing, and
requires plans to cover at least one therapeutic equivalent of a
prescribed contraceptive drug, device, or product.
   (5) Numerous studies support what California has determined for
decades in the Family PACT program: dispensing a 12-month supply of
birth control at one time has numerous benefits, including, but not
limited to, reducing a woman's odds of having an unintended pregnancy
by 30 percent, increasing contraception continuation rates, and
decreasing costs per client to insurers by reducing the number of
pregnancy tests and pregnancies.
   (6) Access to contraception is a key element in shaping women's
health and well-being. Nearly all women have used contraceptives at
some point in their lives, and 62 percent are currently using at
least one method.
   (7) Several states have mirrored the year-supply requirement for
contraceptive coverage in their publicly funded family planning or
Medicaid programs, recognizing the health benefits of reducing
barriers to continuous and effective use of contraception. Recently,
Oregon and Washington D.C. have gone further to require private
health care service plans and health insurance policies to also cover
a 12-month supply of contraceptives. With California's history of
leadership in establishing public policies that increase access to
contraceptives, adopting a similar requirement is a natural
progression of our state's commitment to reducing unintended
pregnancy.
   (b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to expand on
California's existing contraceptive coverage policy by requiring all
health care service plans and health insurance policies, including
both commercial and Medi-Cal managed care plans, to cover a 12-month
supply of a prescribed FDA-approved contraceptive, such as the ring,
the patch, and oral contraceptives.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4064.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4064.5.  (a) A pharmacist may dispense not more than a 90-day
supply of a dangerous drug other than a controlled substance pursuant
to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity of less
than a 90-day supply followed by periodic refills of that amount if
all of the following requirements are satisfied:
   (1) The patient has completed an initial 30-day supply of the
dangerous drug.
   (2) The total quantity of dosage units dispensed does not exceed
the total quantity of dosage units authorized by the prescriber on
the prescription, including refills.
   (3) The prescriber has not specified on the prescription that
dispensing the prescription in an initial amount followed by periodic
refills is medically necessary.
   (4) The pharmacist is exercising his or her professional judgment.

   (b) For purposes of this section, if the prescription continues
the same medication as previously dispensed in a 90-day supply, the
initial 30-day supply under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is not
required.
   (c) A pharmacist dispensing an increased supply of a dangerous
drug pursuant to this section shall notify the prescriber of the
increase in the quantity of dosage units dispensed.
   (d) In no case shall a pharmacist dispense a greater supply of a
dangerous drug pursuant to this section if the prescriber personally
indicates, either orally or in his or her own handwriting, "No change
to quantity," or words of similar meaning. Nothing in this
subdivision shall prohibit a prescriber from checking a box on a
prescription marked "No change to quantity," provided that the
prescriber personally initials the box or checkmark. To indicate that
an increased supply shall not be dispensed pursuant to this section
for an electronic data transmission prescription as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 4040, a prescriber may indicate "No change
to quantity," or words of similar meaning, in the prescription as
transmitted by electronic data, or may check a box marked on the
prescription "No change to quantity." In either instance, it shall
not be required that the prohibition on an increased supply be
manually initialed by the prescriber.
   (e) This section shall not apply to psychotropic medication or
psychotropic drugs as described in subdivision (d) of Section 369.5
of the Welfare and Institutions Code. 
   (f) Except for the provisions of subdivision (d), this section
does not apply to a prescription for FDA-approved, self-administered
hormonal contraceptives approved by the FDA. A prescription for
FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives shall be
dispensed either as provided on the prescription or, at the patient's
request, up to a 12-month supply.  
   (f) 
    (g)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to
require a health care service plan, health insurer, workers'
compensation insurance plan, pharmacy benefits manager, or any other
person or entity, including, but not limited to, a state program or
state employer, to provide coverage for a dangerous drug in a manner
inconsistent with a beneficiary's plan benefit.
  SEC. 3.  Section 1367.25 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   1367.25.  (a)  A group health care service plan contract, except
for a specialized health care service plan contract, that is issued,
amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2000, through
December 31, 2015, inclusive, and an individual health care service
plan contract that is amended, renewed, or delivered on or after
January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2015, inclusive, except for a
specialized health care service plan contract, shall provide coverage
for the following, under general terms and conditions applicable to
all benefits:
   (1)  A health care service plan contract that provides coverage
for outpatient prescription drug benefits shall include coverage for
a variety of federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved
prescription contraceptive methods designated by the plan. In the
event the patient's participating provider, acting within his or her
scope of practice, determines that none of the methods designated by
the plan is medically appropriate for the patient's medical or
personal history, the plan shall also provide coverage for another
FDA-approved, medically appropriate prescription contraceptive method
prescribed by the patient's provider.
   (2)  Benefits for an enrollee under this subdivision shall be the
same for an enrollee's covered spouse and covered nonspouse
dependents.
   (b) (1) A health care service plan contract, except for a
specialized health care service plan contract, that is issued,
amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2016, shall
provide coverage for all of the following services and contraceptive
methods for women:
   (A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph
(2), all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and other
products for women, including all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs,
devices, and products available over the counter, as prescribed by
the enrollee's provider.
   (B) Voluntary sterilization procedures.
   (C) Patient education and counseling on contraception.
   (D) Followup services related to the drugs, devices, products, and
procedures covered under this subdivision, including, but not
limited to, management of side effects, counseling for continued
adherence, and device insertion and removal.
   (2) (A) Except for a grandfathered health plan, a health care
service plan subject to this subdivision shall not impose a
deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing
requirement on the coverage provided pursuant to this subdivision.
Cost sharing shall not be imposed on any Medi-Cal beneficiary.
   (B) If the FDA has approved one or more therapeutic equivalents of
a contraceptive drug, device, or product, a health care service plan
is not required to cover all of those therapeutically equivalent
versions in accordance with this subdivision, as long as at least one
is covered without cost sharing in accordance with this subdivision.

   (C) If a covered therapeutic equivalent of a drug, device, or
product is not available, or is deemed medically inadvisable by the
enrollee's provider, a health care service plan shall provide
coverage, subject to a plan's utilization management procedures, for
the prescribed contraceptive drug, device, or product without cost
sharing. Any request by a contracting provider shall be responded to
by the health care service plan in compliance with the Knox-Keene
Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, as set forth in this chapter
and, as applicable, with the plan's Medi-Cal managed care contract.
   (3) Except as otherwise authorized under this section, a health
care service plan shall not impose any restrictions or delays on the
coverage required under this subdivision.
   (4) Benefits for an enrollee under this subdivision shall be the
same for an enrollee's covered spouse and covered nonspouse
dependents.
   (5) For purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subdivision,
"health care service plan" shall include Medi-Cal managed care plans
that contract with the State Department of Health Care Services
pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) and Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 14200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
religious employer may request a health care service plan contract
without coverage for FDA-approved contraceptive methods that are
contrary to the religious employer's religious tenets. If so
requested, a health care service plan contract shall be provided
without coverage for contraceptive methods.
   (1)  For purposes of this section, a "religious employer" is an
entity for which each of the following is true:
   (A)  The inculcation of religious values is the purpose of the
entity.
   (B)  The entity primarily employs persons who share the religious
tenets of the entity.
   (C)  The entity serves primarily persons who share the religious
tenets of the entity.
   (D)  The entity is a nonprofit organization as described in
Section 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended.
   (2)  Every religious employer that invokes the exemption provided
under this section shall provide written notice to prospective
enrollees prior to enrollment with the plan, listing the
contraceptive health care services the employer refuses to cover for
religious reasons. 
   (d) (1) Every health care service plan contract that is issued,
amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2017, shall
cover a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal
contraceptives dispensed by a prescriber or pharmacy at one time to
an enrollee.  
   (2) If a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered
hormonal contraceptives is dispensed onsite at a location licensed or
otherwise authorized to dispense drugs or supplies, the health care
service plan shall cover the 12-month supply.  
   (d) 
    (e)  This section shall not be construed to exclude
coverage for contraceptive supplies as prescribed by a provider,
acting within his or her scope of practice, for reasons other than
contraceptive purposes, such as decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer
or eliminating symptoms of menopause, or for contraception that is
necessary to preserve the life or health of an enrollee. 
   (e) 
    (f)  This section shall not be construed to deny or
restrict in any way the department's authority to ensure plan
compliance with this chapter when a plan provides coverage for
contraceptive drugs, devices, and products. 
   (f) 
    (g)  This section shall not be construed to require an
individual or group health care service plan contract to cover
experimental or investigational treatments. 
   (g) 
    (h)  For purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
   (1) "Grandfathered health plan" has the meaning set forth in
Section 1251 of PPACA.
   (2) "PPACA" means the federal Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care
and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), and
any rules, regulations, or guidance issued thereunder.
   (3) With respect to health care service plan contracts issued,
amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, "provider" means an
individual who is certified or licensed pursuant to Division 2
(commencing with Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code,
or an initiative act referred to in that division, or Division 2.5
(commencing with Section 1797) of this code.
  SEC. 4.  Section 10123.196 of the Insurance Code is amended to
read:
   10123.196.  (a) An individual or group policy of disability
insurance issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January
1, 2000, through December 31, 2015, inclusive, that provides coverage
for hospital, medical, or surgical expenses, shall provide coverage
for the following, under the same terms and conditions as applicable
to all benefits:
   (1) A disability insurance policy that provides coverage for
outpatient prescription drug benefits shall include coverage for a
variety of federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved
prescription contraceptive methods, as designated by the insurer. If
an insured's health care provider determines that none of the methods
designated by the disability insurer is medically appropriate for
the insured's medical or personal history, the insurer shall, in the
alternative, provide coverage for some other FDA-approved
prescription contraceptive method prescribed by the patient's health
care provider.
   (2) Coverage with respect to an insured under this subdivision
shall be identical for an insured's covered spouse and covered
nonspouse dependents.
   (b) (1) A group or individual policy of disability insurance,
except for a specialized health insurance policy, that is issued,
amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2016, shall
provide coverage for all of the following services and contraceptive
methods for women:
   (A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph
(2), all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and other
products for women, including all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs,
devices, and products available over the counter, as prescribed by
the insured's provider.
   (B) Voluntary sterilization procedures.
   (C) Patient education and counseling on contraception.
   (D) Followup services related to the drugs, devices, products, and
procedures covered under this subdivision, including, but not
limited to, management of side effects, counseling for continued
adherence, and device insertion and removal.
   (2) (A) Except for a grandfathered health plan, a disability
insurer subject to this subdivision shall not impose a deductible,
coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement on the
coverage provided pursuant to this subdivision.
   (B) If the FDA has approved one or more therapeutic equivalents of
a contraceptive drug, device, or product, a disability insurer is
not required to cover all of those therapeutically equivalent
versions in accordance with this subdivision, as long as at least one
is covered without cost sharing in accordance with this subdivision.

   (C) If a covered therapeutic equivalent of a drug, device, or
product is not available, or is deemed medically inadvisable by the
insured's provider, a disability insurer shall provide coverage,
subject to an insurer's utilization management procedures, for the
prescribed contraceptive drug, device, or product without cost
sharing. Any request by a contracting provider shall be responded to
by the disability insurer in compliance with Section 10123.191.
   (3) Except as otherwise authorized under this section, an insurer
shall not impose any restrictions or delays on the coverage required
under this subdivision.
   (4) Coverage with respect to an insured under this subdivision
shall be identical for an insured's covered spouse and covered
nonspouse dependents.
   (c) This section shall not be construed to deny or restrict in any
way any existing right or benefit provided under law or by contract.

   (d) This section shall not be construed to require an individual
or group disability insurance policy to cover experimental or
investigational treatments.
   (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
religious employer may request a disability insurance policy without
coverage for contraceptive methods that are contrary to the religious
employer's religious tenets. If so requested, a disability insurance
policy shall be provided without coverage for contraceptive methods.

   (1) For purposes of this section, a "religious employer" is an
entity for which each of the following is true:
   (A) The inculcation of religious values is the purpose of the
entity.
   (B) The entity primarily employs persons who share the religious
tenets of the entity.
   (C) The entity serves primarily persons who share the religious
tenets of the entity.
   (D) The entity is a nonprofit organization pursuant to Section
6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
   (2) Every religious employer that invokes the exemption provided
under this section shall provide written notice to any prospective
employee once an offer of employment has been made, and prior to that
person commencing that employment, listing the contraceptive health
care services the employer refuses to cover for religious reasons.

   (f) (1) A group or individual policy of disability insurance,
except for a specialized health insurance policy, that is issued,
amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2017, shall
cover a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal
contraceptives dispensed by a prescriber or pharmacy at one time to
an insured.  
   (2) If a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered
hormonal contraceptives is dispensed onsite at a location licensed or
otherwise authorized to dispense drugs or supplies, the insurer
shall cover the 12-month supply.  
   (f) 
    (g)  This section shall not be construed to exclude
coverage for contraceptive supplies as prescribed by a provider,
acting within his or her scope of practice, for reasons other than
contraceptive purposes, such as decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer
or eliminating symptoms of menopause, or for contraception that is
necessary to preserve the life or health of an insured. 
   (g) 
    (h)  This section only applies to disability insurance
policies or contracts that are defined as health benefit plans
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10198.6, except that for
accident only, specified disease, or hospital indemnity coverage,
coverage for benefits under this section applies to the extent that
the benefits are covered under the general terms and conditions that
apply to all other benefits under the policy or contract. This
section shall not be construed as imposing a new benefit mandate on
accident only, specified disease, or hospital indemnity insurance.

   (h) 
    (i)  For purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
   (1) "Grandfathered health plan" has the meaning set forth in
Section 1251 of PPACA.
   (2) "PPACA" means the federal Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care
and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), and
any rules, regulations, or guidance issued thereunder.
   (3) With respect to policies of disability insurance issued,
amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, "health care
provider" means an individual who is certified or licensed pursuant
to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business and
Professions Code, or an initiative act referred to in that division,
or Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and
Safety Code.
  SEC. 5.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.