The Honorable Olympia Snowe
United States Senate
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C 20510
The Honorable Harry Reid
United States Senate
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Snowe and Senator Reid:
We write to convey the American Civil Liberties Union's strong support for S. 1214, The Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2005 (EPICC). This bill will improve women's access to basic health care by addressing an alarming gender inequity in the coverage of prescription drugs under private health insurance policies.
EPICC fights insurance discrimination against woman by requiring private health care plans to provide the same level of coverage for prescription contraception that they do for other prescription drugs and services. Although insurance plans routinely cover prescription drugs and devices as well as outpatient medical services, many fail to cover prescription contraceptives and related medical visits and exams. Consequently, women of reproductive age spend 68 percent more than men on out-of-pocket health care costs, with contraceptives and reproductive health care services accounting for much of the difference.
This failure to cover contraception constitutes impermissible sex discrimination. As the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a federal district court in Washington state concluded (in Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co., 144 F. Supp. 2d 1266 (W.D. Wash. 2001)), the exclusion from health plans of prescription drugs that are used overwhelmingly by women (such as contraception) constitutes unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex.
EPICC is also sound health-care policy. Each year, over 3,000,000 pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Lack of insurance coverage forces many women to choose less expensive and less reliable methods of contraception, which increases the likelihood of unintended pregnancy. Making contraception more accessible and affordable is one crucial step toward reducing unintended pregnancies, reducing the number of abortions, and improving women's health. In addition, improved access to contraception will allow more women to control the timing of their pregnancies. This, in turn, helps reduce infant mortality, low birth weight, and maternal health complications during pregnancy.
Finally, EPICC makes financial sense. The estimated cost to private employers of providing contraceptive coverage is extremely low: it is estimated that adding coverage for the full range of prescription contraceptives to health plans that do not currently cover them would cost employers $1.43 per employee per month. Moreover, it is estimated that not covering contraceptives in employee health plans actually costs employers 15 to 17 percent more than providing contraceptive coverage, as providing contraceptive coverage reduces employers' direct and indirect costs associated with unintended pregnancy.
The American Civil Liberties Union applauds your efforts to improve women's health, equality, and well-being with this important legislation.
Sincerely,
Gregory T. Nojeim
Acting Director and Chief Legislative Counsel